Skip's bookshelf: thriller en-US Thu, 01 May 2025 09:44:20 -0700 60 Skip's bookshelf: thriller 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Bad Action (Billy Cunningham #2)]]> 28364730
He hasn’t counted on the father-son team of contract killers looking to cash in on Billy’s head. Or his old flame, Maggie Flynn, out for payback for her broken heart. If Billy and his team can pass themselves off as high rollers for a week straight, living it up in Vegas’s most exclusive suites and box seats, they’ll get their chance to make their VIP status permanent. It’s the biggest scam of their lives—if they live.]]> 389 James Swain 1503990222 Skip 4 thriller Takedown. James Swain continues to demonstrate his in-depth knowledge of Las Vegas, casinos, and the gaming industry. Billy and his crew are out for the big score, with Billy posing as a whale (wealthy gambler) to garner the attention of a profit-driven corporate owner of casinos. Meanwhile, his nemesis in gaming enforcement hires two assassins to kill Billy, and who kill the wrong Billy Cunningham in an early scene. Fun stuff, and a solid beach read, but Billy's character seems to me to be less stable than previously. Like the surprise score at the end.]]> 4.28 2016 Bad Action (Billy Cunningham #2)
author: James Swain
name: Skip
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/10/29
date added: 2025/05/01
shelves: thriller
review:
Like others, I preferred the first Billy Cunningham book, Takedown. James Swain continues to demonstrate his in-depth knowledge of Las Vegas, casinos, and the gaming industry. Billy and his crew are out for the big score, with Billy posing as a whale (wealthy gambler) to garner the attention of a profit-driven corporate owner of casinos. Meanwhile, his nemesis in gaming enforcement hires two assassins to kill Billy, and who kill the wrong Billy Cunningham in an early scene. Fun stuff, and a solid beach read, but Billy's character seems to me to be less stable than previously. Like the surprise score at the end.
]]> Super Con (Billy Cunningham) 35101284 An adrenaline rush of cons, grift, and murder in a town where deadly double-dealing is the name of the game.

Master grifter Billy Cunningham has built a lucrative career conning a long list of Las Vegas casinos. In fact, he’s never walked into one he couldn’t rip off. Now he’s scheming a “super con� with a gang of high-profile cheats—a one-time-only scam that could rake in a cool multi-million-dollar payday.

All goes as planned until Chinese crime lord Broken Tooth strong-arms Billy into rigging the Super Bowl, too. Billy has no choice but to play ball. Broken Tooth has a special edge on him: blackmail.

When someone on his own team betrays Billy, all bets are off. Both the super con and Super Bowl gambits are in jeopardy. And just who’s scamming who? With kickoff time looming, it’ll take a Hail Mary pass for Billy to grift the game and survive long enough to pull off the wildest double-cross-with-a-twist in Vegas history.

]]> 380 James Swain 1542046408 Skip 4 thriller 4.33 2017 Super Con (Billy Cunningham)
author: James Swain
name: Skip
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/30
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: thriller
review:
The conclusion of the Billy Cunningham trilogy. Billy and his crew run scams to bilk money from the Las Vegas casinos, and has long been an irritant to the Gaming Enforcement team. He has partnered with another old timer for a Super Con, taking advantage of poorly manufactured card shoes, purchased by MGM-owned properties, that hide signs of cards being painted/marked. Things go sideways when his partner and family are identified by the Enforcement team, but Billy's ex warns him and they barely escape capture. Meanwhile, Broken Tooth, a Chinese mobster known for fixing games, kidnaps Billy's driver to force him to fix some prop bets for the upcoming Super Bowl. Billy gets invited to a poker game, and turns the tables on the Rebels defensive team leader, taking him for $60K. To entice them, he forgives the debt and promises them a huge payday; but, the NFL stops the play with a little blackmail of their own, to promote a young and upcoming quarterback. Lots of wheeling and dealing in this one.
]]> <![CDATA[Only the Dead (Terminal List #6)]]> 62684353 1978, Rhode Island: A freshman senator is gunned down, sending shockwaves through Washington that are still reverberating over four decades later.

Now: In a world on the brink of war, facing rampant inflation, political division and shocking assassinations, a secret cabal of global elites are ready to assume control. And with the world’s most dangerous man locked in solitary confinement, the conspirators believe the final obstacle to complete domination has been eliminated. They’re wrong.

From the firms of Wall Street to the corridors of power in Washington, DC and Moscow, secrets from the past have an uncanny ability to rise to the surface, and with the odds stacked against him, James Reece is on a deadly mission generations in the making. But for a man on the warpath, odds are not important . . .]]> 564 Jack Carr 1982181699 Skip 4 thriller 4.55 2023 Only the Dead (Terminal List #6)
author: Jack Carr
name: Skip
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/19
date added: 2025/04/30
shelves: thriller
review:
Another exciting book in the Commander Reece series, although there was a bunch of extraneous geopolitical gobbledygook in the first 100 pages. Reece has been thrown in an unlighted cell in supermax prison for his alleged role in the assassination of President Christensen (at the end of the last book.) He is eventually rescued by Alice and his CIA buddy, but the Russians are still after the secrets in his father's papers. They are also involved in trying to divide the world between themselves and the Chinese, but distracting the U.S. with a false flag operation. While trying to protect his friends, Reece finds himself in the middle of trying to thwart a nuclear attack, requiring him to contact the wife of a U.S. Senator killed in office to unravel the mystery of his father's damaging secrets.
]]> <![CDATA[Bitterfrost (A Bitterfrost Thriller)]]> 220271960 The first in a brand-new crime thriller series from Edgar nominee and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Bryan Gruley. Feisty defence attorney, Devny Payne faces off against veteran detective, Garth Klimmek as they work to solve a vicious double homicide in their small, icy town of Bitterfrost.

Thirteen years ago, former ice hockey star Jimmy Baker quit the game after almost killing an opponent. Now, as the Zamboni driver for the amateur team in his hometown of Bitterfrost, Michigan, he’s living his penance. Until the morning he awakens to the smell of blood . . .

Jimmy soon finds himself arrested for a brutal double murder. The kicker? He has no memory of the night in question. And as the evidence racks up against him, Jimmy’s case is skating on thin ice. Could he have committed such a gruesome crime?

As his defence attorney, Devyn Payne and prosecuting detective Garth Klimmek race to uncover the truth, time is running out for Jimmy. Because all he can really be sure of is that he is capable of taking a life. The question is, in his blacked-out state, did he take two?

This gritty drama is the first in the Bitterfrost series, perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane!]]> 336 Bryan Gruley 1448315409 Skip 3 thriller 4.10 Bitterfrost (A Bitterfrost Thriller)
author: Bryan Gruley
name: Skip
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/24
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: thriller
review:
A murder mystery in the northern wilds of Michigan. Jimmy was a hockey thug in the minor league when he almost killed an opponent. He walked away, retiring to the town where he grew up, working as a Zamboni driver for the local hockey rink, which has a minor league team. He wakes up, with blood on him and no memory of the prior night, even though he only ever has one drink at a local bar. However, he had words with two down-staters, who end up dead after harassing the female bartender. Jimmy is arrested for the murders, and asks his friend Devyn to defend him. Devyn's family owns the rink and team, but she has always been a champion of the underdog and runs the youth hockey programs. Great pressure is brought to bear on the local sheriff by a wealthy parent of one of the murdered men, and Devyn and Jimmy have to work together to determine what happened in order to exonerate him.
]]> <![CDATA[Red Sky Mourning (Terminal List #7)]]> 199897972
A storm is on the horizon. America’s days are numbered. A Chinese submarine has gone rogue and is navigating towards the continental United States, putting its nuclear missiles within striking distance of the West Coast.

A rising Silicon Valley tech mogul with unknown allegiances is at the forefront of a revolution in quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence.

A politician controlled by a foreign power is a breath away from the Oval Office.

Three seemingly disconnected events are on a collision course to ignite a power grab unlike anything the world has ever seen.

The country’s only hope is a quantum computer that has gone dark, retreating to the deepest levels of the internet, learning at a rate inconceivable at her inception. But during her time in hiding, she has done more than learn. She has become a weapon. She is now positioned to act as either the country’s greatest savior or its worst enemy. She is known as “Alice� and her only connection to the outside world is to a former Navy SEAL sniper named James Reece who has left the violence of his past life behind.

Will there be blood?

Count on it!

Will the forces that threaten to destroy the United States be enough to light the fuse of Reece’s resurrection?]]> 576 Jack Carr 1668047098 Skip 4 thriller 4.50 2024 Red Sky Mourning (Terminal List #7)
author: Jack Carr
name: Skip
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/23
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: thriller
review:
Another 4 star thriller in the Commander James Reece series. China wants control of Taiwan and perhaps much more, and devises a sort of Red October scenario: a rogue submarine commander who it alleges wants to attach Hawaii, forcing the transfer of military protocols, which are intercepted by a rogue tech billionaire, secretly working with China on an AI system. Worried about James Reece and his connectivity to Alice, the U.S.'s AI program, the Chinese send hired Iranian assassins to kill him; however, they miss him, but almost kill his fiancee, setting James out for retribution. The Chinese also have control of the rising Presidential candidate, who is also subverting the U.S. response. Exciting ending to the series.
]]> Lowdown Road 62066640
It’s the summer of �74…Richard Nixon has resigned from office, CB radios are the hot new thing, and in the great state of Texas two cousins hatch a plan to drive $1 million worth of stolen weed to Idaho, where some lunatic is gearing up to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle. But with a vengeful sheriff on their tail and the revered and feared marijuana kingpin of Central Texas out to get his stash back, Chuck and Dean are in for the ride of their lives � if they can make it out alive…]]> 352 Scott Von Doviak 1803361425 Skip 3 thriller, e-books 4.06 2023 Lowdown Road
author: Scott Von Doviak
name: Skip
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/22
date added: 2025/04/29
shelves: thriller, e-books
review:
Reminded me a little of the old Dukes of Hazzard TV series. Two brothers get in over their head: one is a ladies man and picks up a woman in a bar, who then shoots her husband dead, who is a deputy; however, her patsy manages to shoot her first, enraging the sheriff, who was in love with her. Then, they get on the wrong side of a local marijuana dealer in Texas, stealing his stash and heading north to the Snake River Canyon to sell off the dope at the Evel Knievel jump. So now there are two incensed people, who want to put them in the dirt. Zany pulp.
]]> <![CDATA[The Vanishing Kind (Alex Carter, #4)]]> 112975127
When wildlife biologist Alex Carter is tasked with locating jaguars on a vast desert preserve in New Mexico, she is ecstatic. While jaguars once roamed throughout the Southwest, they are now endangered, with only a handful remaining, and Alex hopes some of the sleek and elusive creatures have found their way to the protected sanctuary.

Meanwhile, an archaeological team is excavating the gravesite of a sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador on a neighboring piece of land. Curious about the dig, Alex meets the team and, while learning about their discoveries, she encounters a dangerous group of anti-immigrant vigilantes roaming the area, threatening the archaeology team, demanding they leave. And when the militants learn of Alex’s mission, they become bent on stopping her. Because jaguars are federally endangered, the vigilantes worry that if Alex finds them, concessions will be made so that wildlife can cross the border wall. And they want no one crossing it�

And then there are the strange holes that keep appearing on the preserve—Who is digging them, and what are they looking for?

As tensions mount, Alex soon finds herself in a fight for her life against those who would prevent her from restoring jaguars to their historical habitat.]]> 320 Alice Henderson 0063223058 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress "protectors" also attack an archaeological team looking for gold and a legendary dagger belonging to a conquistador. Finally, even Alex becomes a target since she supports a wall with openings to allow jaguars to migrate. Throw in a rogue animal welfare officer, and there is lots of potential for bodily harm. This was the weakest of the four books in this series. 2.5 stars, rounded up because of the importance of wildlife preservation, especially a threatened species like the jaguar.]]> 3.89 The Vanishing Kind (Alex Carter, #4)
author: Alice Henderson
name: Skip
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/18
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Alex Carter takes on an assignment in New Mexico to determine whether or not there are jaguars in a protected wildlife preserve. At a supply stop in the nearby town, there is a art and crafts festival that is attacked by white supremacists, who are targeting natives and those of Central American heritage. Because they wear masks, the local police seem unable to identify or locate them. These same
"protectors" also attack an archaeological team looking for gold and a legendary dagger belonging to a conquistador. Finally, even Alex becomes a target since she supports a wall with openings to allow jaguars to migrate. Throw in a rogue animal welfare officer, and there is lots of potential for bodily harm. This was the weakest of the four books in this series. 2.5 stars, rounded up because of the importance of wildlife preservation, especially a threatened species like the jaguar.
]]> <![CDATA[The Lost Ones (The Moonwind Mysteries, #3)]]> 209604547
It’s summer in 1880 Stockholm, and the city bakes in the heat―but the heat on twelve-year-old Mika is lifting. After lying low following the dramatic blast at the jail, Mika’s relieved to learn her name is finally cleared. And it’s not a moment too soon―because Detective Hoff has a perplexing case involving the disappearance of a local teen. The girl’s wealthy family wants to make sure things stay quiet. Why would a girl who has everything want to run away? And why is her family so afraid to go public?

Then Tekla reaches out to Mika with a truly chilling discovery at a construction site in the city―a discovery that might hit a little too close to home for Mika. Could it be the work of the Dark Angel?

As the summer heats up, Mika will make some tough choices as she works to uncover these mysteries, including the biggest mystery of all: her own family. Join Mika and Detective Hoff in this thrilling new installment of the Moonwind Mysteries series!]]> 222 Johan Rundberg 166252594X Skip 4 4.23 The Lost Ones (The Moonwind Mysteries, #3)
author: Johan Rundberg
name: Skip
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/14
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Beatrice is the daughter of a wealthy family, and has disappeared. Detective Valdemar Hoff takes his orphan friend (Mika) along when he visits the family. Mika manages to speak to Beatrice's friend in school, and her brother as well, deciding that something is very wrong, possibly involving the scary legend of the Dark Angels. When child skeletons are discovered at a construction site in circa. 1880 , there is too much chatter and Valdemar is attacked, saved by Mika's quick thinking, and his is then hidden, where nobody would ever look for him. There are a few satisfying side stories at the orphanage. I am glad there are additional stories to be translated and brought to U.S. readers because this series is very good.
]]> Backlash (Scott Harvath, #18) 42202017
They were fearless; men of honor who have been known throughout history by different names: Spartan, Viking, Samurai.

Today, men like these still strike from the shadows. They are highly prized intelligence agents, military operatives, and assassins.

One man is all three.

Two days ago, that man was crossed�badly.

Now, far from home and surrounded by his enemy, Scot Harvath must battle his way out.

With no support, no cavalry coming, and no one even aware of where he is, it will take everything he has ever learned to survive.

But survival isn’t enough. Harvath wants revenge.

In the most explosive novel Brad Thor has ever written, page after captivating page of action, intrigue, loyalty, and betrayal will keep you hooked until the very last sentence.]]> 378 Brad Thor 1982104031 Skip 4 thriller 4.29 2019 Backlash (Scott Harvath, #18)
author: Brad Thor
name: Skip
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/07/03
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: thriller
review:
After a major traumatic event, Scot finds himself in the Arctic Circle with Russian mercenaries after him. Initially, they want him alive for all of the information he can provide, but when U.S. pressure, led by a rescue specialist and the Troll (Nicholas) is ramped up, the mercenaries' mission parameters are dead or alive. Scot's training as a Navy SEAL kicks in, especially his SERE skills (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.) Not only does he need to stay one step ahead of two-legged soldiers, but there are four legged predators after him as well. After yet another near brush with death, he stumbles first into a cabin belonging to a Sami woodman/trapper, who is beyond help, and eventually into his daughter's medical clinic in a Sami village. Great action, and Scot is driven by rage to take vengeance on the perps responsible for the trauma. Frankly, the vengeance was too rushed, and would have made a great sequel. 4.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Foreign Agent (Scot Harvath, #15)]]> 27276360
Multiple analysts, as well as a senior Congresswoman, are in the country to monitor the raid, but before the team can launch, the safe house is attacked.

What unfolds in the bloody aftermath is a political and public relations nightmare. As horrific videos of the Americans are published on the Internet, the blame-storming back in Washington goes into full swing, focusing on how the intel for the raid was developed and how it might have leaked.

As the search for answers mounts, half spy, half covert counterterrorism operative, Scot Harvath quickly finds himself at the center of the storm. Working for a private intelligence agency contracted by both the CIA and the DoD, it was Harvath who pinpointed al-Naser. But how could ISIS have known the Americans were coming, much less where they would be staying? There has to be more to it; something everyone—especially the politicians—is missing.

With the weight of the attack on his shoulders and several powerful members of Congress calling for his head, Harvath is forced to launch his own operation to unravel what went wrong and exact revenge.

But as he nears the truth and the deadly puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, Harvath will uncover another actor—a rogue player hell-bent on forcing America’s hand and drawing it into a plot more dangerous than anyone in Washington could have imagined.]]> 339 Brad Thor 1476789355 Skip 4 thriller 4.13 2016 Foreign Agent (Scot Harvath, #15)
author: Brad Thor
name: Skip
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/15
date added: 2025/04/18
shelves: thriller
review:
Another winner from Brad Thor. A series of attacks on US personnel and the SecDef by ISIS both internationally and domestically garners the attention of Scot Harvath, but something doesn't seem right. Too well planned? Who is behind these attacks and what is their endgame? Scot has to rely on his old comrades: Herman, Nicholas, Vella, and finds some new ones (Anna Strobl, Yusuf) to chase down a ghost. The [spoilers removed] are playing a dangerous game against a dangerous adversary, but have the advantage of a well-placed, political mole. With his usual aplomb and no-holds barred approach, Scot continues to lead America's charge against terrorism, as the President's secret weapon. I especially liked the covert insertion of an operative into the U.S. from Mexico via a series of flooded underground caves although I think Thor forgot to kill off the guide.
]]> <![CDATA[The Queen of Thieves (The Moonwind Mysteries #2)]]> 63902317 207 Johan Rundberg 1662509626 Skip 3 thriller, foreign-translated 3.95 2021 The Queen of Thieves (The Moonwind Mysteries #2)
author: Johan Rundberg
name: Skip
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/16
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: thriller, foreign-translated
review:
Book #2 in the Moonwind Mysteries, set in 1880s Stockholm. Mika is one of the older kids at an orphanage, where she helps the headmistress manage the younger ones. When kids start leaving the orphanage for the promise of a better life, Mika is conflicted and eventually tracks them to a street performer, where the kids seem to be stealing from patrons. With the rise in thefts, Inspector Valdemar asks Mika for her help again, given her street cred. Unscrupulous people will take advantage of orphans with no hope; but, when Mika finally meets the performer, she seems legitimately interested in Mika and her orphanage friends. Mika goes along, hoping for the best, but with eyes open to help her friends, leading to a big performance with the arrival and celebratory dinner/performance for an expedition with a rare gem. Good characters, questionable motives. 3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[The Water Keeper (Murphy Shepherd, #1)]]> 52770387 A riveting new story of heroism, heartache, and the power of love to heal all wounds.

Murphy Shepherd is a man with many secrets. He lives alone on an island, tending the grounds for a church with no parishioners, and he’s dedicated his life to rescuing those in peril. But as he mourns the loss of his mentor and friend, Murph himself may be more lost than he realizes.

When he pulls a beautiful woman named Summer out of Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, Murph’s mission to lay his mentor to rest at the end of the world takes a dangerous turn. Drawn to Summer, and desperate to find her missing daughter, Murph is pulled deeper and deeper into the dark and dangerous world of modern-day slavery.

With help from some unexpected new friends, including a faithful Labrador he plucks from the ocean and an ex-convict named Clay, Murph must race against the clock to locate the girl before he is consumed by the secrets of his past—and the ghosts who tried to bury them.

With Martin's trademark lyricism and poignant prose, The Water Keeper is at once a tender love story a heartrending search for freedom, and a reminder that the needs of the one outweigh those of the ninety-nine.]]> 352 Charles Martin 0785230912 Skip 4 e-books, thriller 4.15 2020 The Water Keeper (Murphy Shepherd, #1)
author: Charles Martin
name: Skip
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/09
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: e-books, thriller
review:
Like his other books, Charles Martin's themes of love, hope and redemption are prevalent in this story, which revolve around sex trafficking. Murphy Shepherd lives a double or perhaps triple life, posing a hermit helper of a priest. He mourns the loss of his great love, but has a new purpose in life, which is rescuing young girls from the clutches of the traffickers. As he heads south along the Intercoastal Waterway in Florida to scatter the ashes of his mentor, he saves the life of Summer, who is trying to find her own daughter, who has fallen in with the wrong crowd, and a Labrador retriever, who leads Murph to his owner, a recently paroled black inmate, who is dying and wants to say goodbye to his departed wife. There is even a stowaway on board, Ellie, who wants to know about the mother that put her up for adoption. Good twists and turns, especially about Murph's life story and wealth, offset by an endless and pointless listing of every town along the journey.
]]> <![CDATA[Black Wolf (Antonia Scott, #2)]]> 126918369 Antonia Scott has an unusually gifted mind, able to see what others miss, able to solve the crimes that baffle all others. The only thing she fears is herself.

Antonia is the lynchpin of the Red Queen project, created to work behind the scenes to solve the most devious and dangerous crimes. But she is unwilling to move past the last case, convinced it’s related to a personal tragedy, until a series of deadly events pulls her back in. In southern Spain, in the Costa del Sol, a key mafia figure is found brutally murdered in his villa, his pregnant wife, Lola Moreno, barely escapes an attempt to kill her in a shopping mall and is on the run. A shipping container from St. Petersburg arrives in port in Spain containing the corpses of nine woman, all who suffocated. Now Antonia, with the help of her helper and protector, Jon Gutierrez, must track down this missing Lola. But they aren’t the only ones on Lola’s trail � a dangerous contract killer, known as the Black Wolf, is also on her trail. And Antonia Scott, still plagued by her personal demons, must outwit, out-maneuver, and, ultimately, face this terrible, mysterious rival.]]> 352 Juan Gómez-Jurado 1250853699 Skip 4 4.09 2019 Black Wolf (Antonia Scott, #2)
author: Juan GĂłmez-Jurado
name: Skip
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/10
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: thriller, foreign-translated, e-books
review:
Second book in the Antonia Scott series. She is exceptionally brilliant, and part of a super-secret international crime-fighting organization, charged with solving Europe’s worst crimes. When overwhelmed, she takes a red pill (running for the shelter of mother’s little helper?), occasionally taking more than prescribed. Her partner, Jon Gutierrez, is a cop from Bilbao, to help manage her and try to follow police procedures. He is affable, bulky (but not fat!) with red hair, and gay. A mafioso has been killed in a coastal southern city in Spain, and his attractive wife (Lola) goes on the run, managing to escape the henchmen of a Russian mafia head, leading to the killing being assigned to a famous and feared assassin: the Black Wolf. Suspenseful.
]]> <![CDATA[The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne]]> 215362022 When a drug kingpin discovers his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as "The Man," to investigate. At the same time, Babs's youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn't seem like a coincidence. In twenty-four hours Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’s wrath.]]> 368 Ron Currie Jr. 0593851668 Skip 3 thriller 4.01 The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne
author: Ron Currie Jr.
name: Skip
average rating: 4.01
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: thriller
review:
Babs Dionne is the crime lord in Waterville, Maine, trying to keep order in town, where Canadian immigrants are treated as white trash, when things get ugly really fast. A classic story of a leather factory polluting the water, maiming people, leading to deaths and drug dependencies. One daughter disappears, a second daughter almost dies of an overdose, and her son died overseas in the military. Her grandson has a black eye, and Babs has to lay a smackdown on her son-in-law. She and the sheriff are in bed together, when an enforcer shows up for a Canadian drug king, who wants to own the local trade. Secrets become known, and the truth is harsh. The only steady hand in town seems to be the parish priest. A bit too heavy on violence and too little differentiation among the players.
]]> <![CDATA[White King (Antonia Scott, #3)]]> 211003777 Antonia Scott returns in the explosive climax in this sequel to the international bestselling book and streaming series, Red Queen. Antonia Scott has an unusually gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. She’s the lynchpin of a top-secret project, Red Queen, created to work across borders and behind the scenes to solve the most devious and dangerous crimes, those that are beyond the skills of the regular police forces. But the Red Queen project is under attack on all fronts. Across Europe, its agents are murdering each other and cases from the past, long believed resolved, are rearing their deadly heads again. At the center of it is the mysterious Mr. White, who has been weaving a web around Antonia for a very long time. He is as smart and capable as her but, unlike her, he's a psychotic killer who has isolated Antonia Scott. Jon Gutierrez, Antonia’s protector and the only person she trusts, has been kidnapped. Antonia’s husband has been killed and her remaining family is in hiding. With Jon’s life at stake, Mr. White gives her a seemingly innocuous solve three crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The only way to keep Jon alive is to play Mr. White’s game, but can even Antonia win a game when she can only see part of the board?]]> 352 Juan Gómez-Jurado 1250853710 Skip 5 foreign-translated, thriller 4.22 2020 White King (Antonia Scott, #3)
author: Juan GĂłmez-Jurado
name: Skip
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/12
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller
review:
White King is book three in the Antonia Scott trilogy. She is the best of the Red Queens, a group of international crime fighters operating in Europe. The Red Queen project is under attack, with many Red Queens killed, some at the hands of their designed protectors. Jon Gutierrez, Antonia’s protector and friend, was kidnapped at the end of the last book. He is returned, but Mr. White has sewn a bomb into his body, which he will detonate unless Antonia solves three murder cases, each in a matter of hours. She will stop at nothing to save Jon's life, and solve the cases, pitting herself against a worthy adversary, holding a number of hidden aces. The cases tie together nicely, revealing much about what has happened to Antonia and her family, with Mr. White's agenda to secure some all-powerful weapon. Great characters, about which we continue to learn, both good and bad, and a great plot. Antonia is superb and brilliant, even while battling her inner demons. (Wish there were more books forthcoming in this trilogy.)
]]> <![CDATA[The Keeper (Murphy Shepherd, #4)]]> 216101362 Combine James Patterson and Colleen Hoover and you'll start to understand why readers are riveted by the Murphy Shepherd gripping action, heart-wrenching emotion, and deep questions that deserve to be considered.

In this fourth book in the Murphy Shepherd series, Murphy knows Bones didn't hesitate to give his life to stop the evil perpetuated by his brother, but there's still work to be done. Though Frank is gone, his organization is not, and almost even before Bones's funeral in Arlington is complete, Murph receives a call that the three daughters of presidential hopeful Aaron Ashley have been taken and there are no leads.

The girls' lives on the line and time is of the essence. But Murphy has never done this without Bones. How can he grieve his friend and mentor, figure out who he is without Bones, and navigate a new role for himself with team . . . all while putting total focus into finding these daughters?

When his daughters are finally rescued, Ashley steps back from the presidential race. But Murph knows something about the timing is a little too convenient for the senator who steps in to take his place. The far-reaching tendrils of Frank's organization are entangled even here, and Murph and his team will stop at nothing to root them out.]]> 430 Charles Martin 0840722486 Skip 4 series-in-progress, thriller 4.63 The Keeper (Murphy Shepherd, #4)
author: Charles Martin
name: Skip
average rating: 4.63
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/10
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: series-in-progress, thriller
review:
A real roller coaster ride, picking up where the last book ended. Bones trying to save his evil brother Frank, with both of them toppling into a grotto and washed out to sea. Frank's seven generals now free to unleash their horrors on the world, with Murphy Shephard seemingly lost without his friend and mentor. Following a mysterious and well-executed kidnapping Shepherd is called by another close friend for help locating and rescuing his daughters. This close friend is the Vice President, and likely successor to the current President, but steps aside unable to perform his duties. His close friend, a power-broking Senator reluctantly agrees to step up, but Murphy distrusts him. Rallying his team, they do what they do best, finding and mounting a daring rescue in Alaska, with the Vice President turning their airplane into a glider for a stealthy approach. Murphy goes back to Europe to say his final goodbyes to Bones. Some things happen as expected, others do not.
]]> <![CDATA[Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce #2)]]> 217394492 In this stunningly twisty thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben, a secret from former Detective Sami Kierce’s college days comes back to haunt him. His memory is clear, but all these years later, the facts don’t add up…which is something he cannot ignore.

Sami Kierce, a young college grad backpacking in Spain with friends, wakes up one morning, covered in blood. There’s a knife in his hand. Beside him, the body of his girlfriend. Anna. Dead. He doesn’t know what happened. His screams drown out his thoughts—and then he runs.

Twenty-two years later, Kierce, now a private investigator, is a new father who’s working off his debts by doing low level surveillance jobs and teaching wannabe sleuths at a night school in New York City. One evening, he recognizes a familiar face at the back of the classroom. Anna. It’s unmistakably her. As soon as Kierce makes eye contact with her, she bolts. For Kierce there is no choice. He knows he must find this woman and solve the impossible mystery that has haunted his every waking moment since that terrible day.

His investigation will bring him face-to-face with his past—and prove, after all this time, he’s nobody’s fool.]]> 352 Harlan Coben 1538756358 Skip 3 thriller 4.10 2025 Nobody’s Fool (Detective Sami Kierce #2)
author: Harlan Coben
name: Skip
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/05
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: thriller
review:
Sami Kierce is on his way to medical school when his college roommate and his lax buddies decide to go to the Sun Coast in Spain, where Sami falls hard for a girl in a disco named Anna. After partying, drinking, drugging, and screwing, he wakes up to find her stabbed multiple times and his hand on the bloody knife. He reports the death, but there is no body, but he runs back to America. Sami has lost his way, and decides to pass on medical school, eventually becoming a cop. Things go badly there, and he is forced to resign in disgrace, but his fiancee is murdered. The killer is found, convicted and sent to prison. As this book starts, Sami is happily married with a one-year old son, and is teaching a class in investigations when the killer is released essentially due to Sami's reputation for being a dirty cop. As he is teaching, a woman looks in on the class and Sami thinks it is Anna, setting in motion, a project for his class as they track her to a fancy estate in tony Connecticut, and comes to learn she is the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy family, who disappeared for 11+ years, returning with no memory of what happened. We then embark on a classic Coben mystery, full of twists and intrigue.
]]> <![CDATA[Smolder (Stone Barrington, #65)]]> 61606723
Finally enjoying some downtime in Santa Fe, Stone Barrington agrees to attend an art exhibit with a dear friend. There, he encounters an intriguing woman who is on the trail of a ring of art thieves. Always one to please, Stone offers his help.

From Santa Fe to Los Angeles, it quickly becomes clear that her investigation has links to Stone—particularly to rare Matilda Stone art, his mother’s paintings. And when old grudges come to light, Stone is forced to reckon with a familiar enemy. Stone must act fast before whoever is out to get him finally closes in on him . . . for good.]]> 368 Brett Battles 0593540093 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 3.94 2024 Smolder (Stone Barrington, #65)
author: Brett Battles
name: Skip
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Solid effort by Brett Battles, who is continuing the Stuart Woods' series. Woodman & Weld win a lawsuit against a seriously wealthy sociopath, who decides to punish Stone by destroying the artwork of his famous mother, Matilda Stone. When his townhouse is attacked, Stone uses lethal force against one of the intruders, further enraging his adversary. Next, they decide to obtain three paintings, with the intention to burn them at an upcoming birthday celebration for Stone, including one painting acquired by producer, Billy Barnett (a/k/a Teddy Fay.) Meanwhile, Stone meets an insurance investigator, who has been looking into a new of arson cases where paintings have turned to ash. These crooks are hired to find three Stone paintings in too short order, and things go badly, especially when the dirty art dealer decides to keep the originals and hire a forger. My only quibble is that I really do not think Battles has been able to mimic the voices of the main characters, mainly his choice of words.
]]> <![CDATA[Stuart Woods' Golden Hour (Teddy Fay #7)]]> 206180061
Teddy Fay is ready to embark on the European press tour of Peter Barrington’s latest film Storm’s Eye, when he receives an unexpected visit from Lance Cabot, director of the CIA. Several CIA agents have been turning up dead. The commonality? They were all part of a mission Teddy was involved in: Golden Hour. Lance wants Teddy to use his trip as a cover to investigate who is behind these killings.

From Venice and Budapest to their last stop at a film festival in Berlin, Teddy must dodge excited fans, enamored women, and a few too many assassins who seem dead set on tracking down Golden Hour agents. And if Teddy doesn’t work fast enough, his identity—and life—might just be the next target in the killer’s ruthless plot for revenge.]]> 344 Brett Battles 0593331613 Skip 3 series-in-progress, thriller With Teddy Fay heading to Europe anyway on a publicity tour for Peter Barrington’s newest movie, Lance Cabot asks Teddy to investigate who is murdering these people and why. As always, Teddy has to avoid entanglements with various women and alter his appearance multiple times, switching between himself, his movie producer persona or his movie stuntman persona. ]]> 4.30 Stuart Woods' Golden Hour (Teddy Fay #7)
author: Brett Battles
name: Skip
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: series-in-progress, thriller
review:
Brett Battles has picked up where Stuart Woods left off, with Book #7 in the Teddy Fay series. Some of his former colleagues from Operation Golden Hour are being systematically assassinated in Europe.
With Teddy Fay heading to Europe anyway on a publicity tour for Peter Barrington’s newest movie, Lance Cabot asks Teddy to investigate who is murdering these people and why. As always, Teddy has to avoid entanglements with various women and alter his appearance multiple times, switching between himself, his movie producer persona or his movie stuntman persona.
]]> The Rescue (Ryan Decker #1) 41451735 For fans of Tom Clancy and Lee Child, a heart-pumping thriller of betrayal, revenge, and conspiracy by USA Today bestselling author Steven Konkoly.

Former CIA operative turned mercenary for hire Ryan Decker’s specialty is rescuing kidnap victims. Hired by an influential US senator to liberate her daughter from a human-trafficking ring, Decker never anticipated sabotage or that the assault could go so disastrously wrong. The hostage is dead. His team is wiped out, and so are their families, including Decker’s own wife and son—eliminated one by one by the Russian mafia. And he’s survived to take the fall.

When he’s inexplicably freed soon into a ten-year sentence in federal prison, Decker suspects another setup. And private investigator Harlow Mackenzie knows he’s right. She has evidence that a power greater than the Russian mob was behind the raid that ruined Decker’s life.

The next move in a nationwide cat-and-mouse game of high-level sedition is up to them. Fueled by revenge and an obsession to clear his name, Decker has only one mission: to destroy a growing conspiracy before it’s too late.]]> 398 Steven Konkoly 1542042240 Skip 3 thriller 4.14 2019 The Rescue (Ryan Decker #1)
author: Steven Konkoly
name: Skip
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/15
date added: 2025/03/25
shelves: thriller
review:
Former CIA operative, Ryan Decker, ran an international mercenary force specializing in kidnap rescues. However, when a U.S. Senator hires him to rescue a kidnapped daughter, things go as wrong as they can: his team and their families, his wife and son are all killed violently, presumably by psychotic criminals. Decker goes to prison. Somehow, phony paperwork allows his early release, and he is targeted for death. With the help of a private investigator, Harlow Mackenzie, who herself was rescued from a child trafficking ring by Decker, he tries to figure out what happened in the failed attempt and who is trying to kill him. The lead candidates are the Russian Mafia and another mercenary group, whose involvement is tied back to U.S. government contracts and dirty politicians. Plenty of action, but insufficient character development made me round down from 3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Arctic Storm Rising (Nick Flynn #1)]]> 55501754
After a CIA covert mission goes badly awry, U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Nicholas Flynn is exiled to guard a remote radar post along Alaska’s Arctic frontier. This dead-end assignment is designed to put his career permanently on ice, but Flynn’s not the type to fade quietly into obscurity...

As winter storms pound Alaska and northern Canada, Russian aircraft begin penetrating deep into friendly airspace. Are these rehearsals for a possible first strike, using Russia’s new long-range stealth cruise missiles? Or is some other motive driving the Kremlin to take ever-increasing risks along the hostile Arctic frontier separating two of the world’s great powers?

When an American F-22 collides with one of the Russian interlopers, things go south fast—in seconds, missiles are fired. There are no survivors. Despite horrific weather, Flynn and his security team are ordered to parachute into the area in a desperate bid to reach the crash sites ahead of the Russians. It’s now obvious that the Pentagon and CIA are withholding vital information, but Flynn and his men have no choice but to make the dangerous jump.

Soon they’re caught in a deadly game of hide-and-seek with Spetsnaz commandos operating covertly on American soil. It seems that the F-22s and their Russian counterparts aren’t the first aircraft to have gone missing in these desolate mountains. The Kremlin is hunting for the first prototype of its new stealth bomber—which vanished on what was supposed to be a test flight…while loaded with nuclear-armed stealth cruise missiles.

As Russia and the U.S. square off on the brink of all-out-war, it’s up to Nick to find the missing bomber…and prevent a potential nuclear holocaust.]]> 400 Dale Brown Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress Hunt for Red October type plot.]]> 4.33 2021 Arctic Storm Rising (Nick Flynn #1)
author: Dale Brown
name: Skip
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/21
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
A new series by Dale Brown, following his successful 20-book series about Patrick McLanahan. Pilot Nick Flynn is marooned in a station Alaska, after a mission goes awry. However, when a prototype Russian stealth bomber is commandeered by a decorated senior officer and hidden in Alaska. Despite horrific weather, Nick and his security team are ordered to parachute into the area to reach the crash sites ahead of the Russians, following a dogfight. The Pentagon and CIA are withholding vital information, but Flynn and his team follow their orders, which pit them against Spetsnaz commandos, who have invaded to find and destroy if necessary the bomber, which has been loaded with nuclear-armed stealth cruise missiles for authenticity. Above average thriller, with a Hunt for Red October type plot.
]]> Pro Bono 215959515 A tenacious attorney grapples with a dangerous group of thieves in this new thriller from the author of The Old Man.

Charles Warren, Los Angeles attorney, has dedicated his career to aiding people in financial straits. He is particularly skilled at the art of recovering assets that have been embezzled or hidden. In his newest case, helping a beautiful young widow find the money missing from her late husband’s investment accounts, Charlie recognizes a familiar scheme—one that echoes the con job that targeted his own widowed mother many years before, and that led him, as a teenager, to commit a crime of retribution that still weighs on his conscience.

Charlie can’t get the present case out of his mind, but within hours of starting his investigation, he is followed, shot at, and has his briefcase stolen. It’s clear that someone doesn’t want him following the trail of the missing money but, as Charlie continues to pursue answers, he quickly becomes too entangled in the web of fraud, betrayal, and career criminals surrounding the theft to escape its deadly snare.]]> 360 Thomas Perry 1613166168 Skip 3 thriller 3.71 2025 Pro Bono
author: Thomas Perry
name: Skip
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: thriller
review:
Charlie Warren is an attorney and CPA but had to put himself though college and law school because following his father's early demise, his mother married a con man, who siphoned all of her wealth before he disappearing. Charlie's law practice specializes in helping those who have experienced what his mother did. Along comes Vesper Ellis, who was widowed three years ago and has discovered money was siphoned from her accounts while she was grieving. After some analysis, Charlie discovers that monies stolen at two different brokerages, where the investment managers are related by marriage. Following a threat of civil litigation, trouble ensues, including violence against them. Meanwhile, two former criminals are also trying to track down the missing monies from the Warren family, in possession of some inside information, including Charlie's stepfather's real name and a way to retrieve the money that was hidden in various accounts and taken over by the states he opened accounts in. Charlie notifies his mother and she returns to Los Angeles to help Charlie. Lots of twists, but too many characters and distractions along the way.
]]> <![CDATA[The Bitter Past (Porter Beck, #1)]]> 61884882 The Bitter Past begins a compelling series set in the high desert of Nevada featuring Sheriff Porter Beck�

Porter Beck is the sheriff in the high desert of Nevada, north of Las Vegas. Born and raised there, he left to join the Army, where he worked in Intelligence, deep in the shadows in far off places. Now he's back home, doing the same lawman's job his father once did, before his father started to develop dementia. All is relatively quiet in this corner of the world, until an old, retired FBI agent is found killed. He was brutally tortured before he was killed and clues at the scene point to a mystery dating back to the early days of the nuclear age. If that wasn't strange enough, a current FBI agent shows up to help Beck's investigation.

In a case that unfolds in the past (the 1950s) and the present, it seems that a Russian spy infiltrated the nuclear testing site and now someone is looking for that long-ago, all-but forgotten person, who holds the key to what happened then and to the deadly goings on now.]]> 320 Bruce Borgos 1250848075 Skip 4 3.99 2023 The Bitter Past (Porter Beck, #1)
author: Bruce Borgos
name: Skip
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/27
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress, goodreads-netgalley-giveaway, e-books
review:
Porter Beck is a sheriff in rural Nevada, succeeding his father. When a former FBI agent is found murdered, following torture, Beck's skills as a former intelligence officer are needed. He is joined by Special Agent Sana Locke from the FBI’s Las Vegas field office, raising questions for him. The murder seems to tie back to the victim's own investigation of a nuclear test site in the late 1950s, with someone seeking to make sure information remains undiscovered. Meanwhile, there are some strange goings-on, including a disappearance in a nearby commune, which may or may not be related. Beck's father has memory issues, and his sister is a bit odd. They must all work together to solve the mystery of who killed the FBI agent and what was the big secret that led to the murder. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
]]> <![CDATA[We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)]]> 203956647 A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve...

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job...

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 059365322X.]]> 400 Richard Osman Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress
Amy is on a private island in South Carolina, protecting a famous mystery writer, Rosie D'Antonio, who is being threatened by a Russian oligarch named Vasiliy Karpin for something she said in a recent novel. Suddenly, Amy becomes a target and runs off with Rosie in her private jet, after trying to find out about a recent murder nearby, only to find the Sheriff dead too. Someone seems keen on killing her boss as well. Amy and Rosie ask Steve to join them, and they avoid several attempts on Amy's life. Readers are kept in suspense as to who wants her dead, supplied only with the names Francois Loubet and Joe Blow, with Francois being a known money launderer. Too much folly and too slow at the outset for me.]]> 4.06 2024 We Solve Murders (We Solve Murders, #1)
author: Richard Osman
name: Skip
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Amy Wheeler is a bodyguard who protects VIPs. She is married to Adam, who she barely sees, but is very close to Adam's father, Steve. Steve is a retired cop, living on a small English town, working as a P.I., with mostly small jobs. He is a grieving widower, who speaks with his deceased wife daily and has a stray cat named Trouble for companionship (besides Amy.)

Amy is on a private island in South Carolina, protecting a famous mystery writer, Rosie D'Antonio, who is being threatened by a Russian oligarch named Vasiliy Karpin for something she said in a recent novel. Suddenly, Amy becomes a target and runs off with Rosie in her private jet, after trying to find out about a recent murder nearby, only to find the Sheriff dead too. Someone seems keen on killing her boss as well. Amy and Rosie ask Steve to join them, and they avoid several attempts on Amy's life. Readers are kept in suspense as to who wants her dead, supplied only with the names Francois Loubet and Joe Blow, with Francois being a known money launderer. Too much folly and too slow at the outset for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Girl on a Slay Ride (Prologue Crime)]]> 31182082 A baby-faced sadist sprung from the death-house �

Two trigger-happy hoods �

A voluptuous redhead trying to outrun the vengeance of the Mob �

Here was a carload of killers, ready to fight each other and the world for a chance at the Big Money.

$100,000 in unmarked ransom bills was the prize, hidden somewhere in the trackless woods of the Pacific Northwest. And they all knew that only one of them would come out alive.

The hunters become the hunted in this vicious game of winner-kill-all.

]]> 177 Louis Trimble Skip 2 thriller, e-books 4.25 2012 Girl on a Slay Ride (Prologue Crime)
author: Louis Trimble
name: Skip
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: thriller, e-books
review:
A call for help from his ex-wife Denise, who is running away from her new mobster husband detours Cliff to the airport, instead of delivering $40,000 in negotiable bonds. Two thugs hijack them to get Cliff to take them into the forest to find a $100,000 ransom, with the thugs having grabbed the kidnapper/rapist to force him to reveal the hiding place. I usually enjoy a pulp story, but I did not like the characters in this one, who were manipulating or manipulated, and too much convenient things happened, both in the woods and at sea, as the bad guys tried to escape into Canada.
]]> Trust Your Eyes 13542982
Thomas's brother, Ray, takes care of him, cooking for him, dealing with the outside world on his behalf, and listening to his intricate and increasingly paranoid theories. When Thomas tells Ray what he has seen, Ray humors him with a half-hearted investigation. But Ray soon realizes he and his brother have stumbled onto a deadly conspiracy.

And now they are in the crosshairs...]]> 496 Linwood Barclay 0451237900 Skip 4 thriller 4.10 2012 Trust Your Eyes
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Skip
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: thriller
review:
This story reminded me of "A Beautiful Mind." Thomas Kilbride is a map-obsessed schizophrenic who believes a cataclysmic event will permanently destroy electronic maps. Using a computer mapping program, he lives in his bedroom traveling the world's cities, memorizing streets and places, believing he works for the CIA and speaks with President Clinton. When his father dies in a tractor accident mowing a steep hill, his brother Ray, comes to help Thomas and bury their father. While looking around Orchard Street, Thomas sees a woman in an upstairs window being murdered, with a plastic bag over her head. Thomas convinces his brother to investigate since Ray has to meet a prospective client in NY City. The victim was supposed to be a blackmailer, but is someone much more important. The killer and facilitators are desperately trying to cover their error, by eliminating the Kilbrides, the blackmailer, and anyone else who gets in their way.
]]> <![CDATA[Theft of an Idol (Eye of Isis #3)]]> 60500422 When Cleopatra's most beloved actress disappears, her new Eye of Isis must solve a case that will lead to the darkest corners of Alexandria.

From the palaces of Alexandria reigns Cleopatra � seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt � surrounded by riches untold. Through the streets of her great city bustle scholars and sailors, politicians and priests. For those with the means, it is a comfortable life.

But not all are invited to share in the wealth of Egypt’s first city. For the peasants and farmers, their lives lie in the hands of the gods and the harvest. Unless, that is, they can find other methods to feed their families. Other, less savory methods.

When Herminia, one of Alexandria’s most beloved actresses, disappears on the eve of a great performance, Cleopatra sets Tetisheri, her Eye, to investigate. In her search for the truth, Tetisheri will uncover a mystery that will take her to the city’s darkest corners…]]> 352 Dana Stabenow 1800249829 Skip 3 3.80 2022 Theft of an Idol (Eye of Isis #3)
author: Dana Stabenow
name: Skip
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: historical-fiction, series-in-progress, thriller
review:
The third book in the Eye of Isis series is cleverly titled, with a dual meaning. Alexandria’s most beloved actresses, Herminia, fails to appear for a debut performance, disappointing all, including the Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt herself. Cleopatra sets Tetisheri, her Eye, to investigate. In her search for Herminia, who lives a simple life, Tetisheri finds a rejected lover, a priceless statue, a dead cosmetician, and treachery. Tetisheri's travels take her to the Memphis, the city of temples, where she finds an overt war between two temples: one of the leaders is well-known to Teti, while the other seems to have become leader by virtue of deep, but unexplainable wealth. Once again, Teti finds her life threatened in the pursuit of justice.
]]> The Raid (Ryan Decker, 2) 44080343
After exposing and dismantling a deep-state conspiracy that nearly destroyed his life, Ryan Decker finds his covert skills have put him on the radar of influential Senator Steele. Now Steele needs his help. Two patrol agents were killed in a bizarre explosion near the US-Mexico border—and the evidence doesn’t line up with the official story.

Enlisted by Steele to run an undercover, off-the-books investigation, Decker and his partner, Harlow, head to the border town of Tecate. But when they’re caught in an ambush, Decker realizes they’ve stumbled onto something far more dangerous than any of them understood.

The cover-up is rooted deep in the Department of Defense itself. Fearful for their own lives and unable to trust anyone outside their small circle of skilled associates, Decker and Harlow set in motion a risky plan to stop a criminal conspiracy.]]> 393 Steven Konkoly 154209142X Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 4.19 2019 The Raid (Ryan Decker, 2)
author: Steven Konkoly
name: Skip
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Two Border Patrol agents stumble into something secret, and are killed, but not before reporting what appears to be human trafficking of Europeans. This information finds its way to Senator Steele, who dispatches Ryan Decker, a former special forces soldier, now private consultant and his team, to get to the facts. While on their reconnaissance mission, they discover a cache of U.S. military grade weapons and cutting edge robots as protection. Things get complicated as they are traipsing though a military only zone and into Mexico. The team recruits some "friends" to get them in-country, where they discover not only a potential war brewing among the cartels, but an old adversary seeking to profit immensely. A clever solution is developed on the fly to bring down the hammer of justice.
]]> Leo (Benny Griessel, #8) 214339576 In a corrupt South Africa, the criminals are as likely to be in government—or even in the police—as on the streets.

Two decorated detectives must put their careers on the line to find the link between three seemingly-unrelated homicides in the latest thriller in the #1 internationally bestselling series

Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido are languishing in Stellenbosch. Run-of-the-mill police work in the leafy university town is a far cry from their previous life in Cape Town fighting crime and government corruption at the highest level. Then a student is found dead on a mountain trail, and the key suspect, a local businessman, is found murdered in what looks like a professional hit delivering a message—suffocated by fast-action filler foam sprayed down his throat.

On the other side of the country, a beautiful wildlife guide is recruited by a group of special forces soldiers to act as a honeytrap, part of a dangerous multi-million-dollar heist that goes tragically wrong. A single link connects the murdered businessman to the special forces, making Benny and Vaughn’s case all the more mysterious. Another former soldier is soon killed, as is an agent of the country’s disgraced former president; and then the heist crew reorganizes with an even more audacious theft in mind.

Following leads as they fly at them, not sure exactly who to trust and struggling to connect the dots as the motives don’t seem to add up, Benny and Vaughn find their case increasingly points to the corruption polluting the country. They know the clock is ticking—and Benny also has to be at the altar on time for his anxiously-anticipated wedding day.]]> 464 Deon Meyer 0802164234 Skip 4 .
Meanwhile, Benny is getting married and is relying on others to help him with all of the details, from his daughter to his partner Cupido. They are crushed when their former boss resigns from the Hawks before reinstating them, but she reappears in a different, more apt role for her, and gets them on temporary loan. Book #8 is a bit slow at times, but satisfying in the end.]]> 4.30 Leo (Benny Griessel, #8)
author: Deon Meyer
name: Skip
average rating: 4.30
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/14
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress, foreign-translated
review:
Benny Griessel and Vaughan Cupido have been banished from the national police force (Hawks) to policing grunt work in the small university town of Stellenbosch. A female university student is found dead on a mountain trail. The detectives believe the suspect, Basie Small, walking his dogs, was implicated in her death. He is found dead after being tortured and suffocated by foam filler sprayed down his throat, a clear message to others to keep quiet. The partners learn he was once a member of Recce, a South African Special Force that operated outside the country. When another former soldier is murdered, followed by a political fixer, there is clearly a deep buried secret. The last surviving member of their Recce unit is the unbalanced Tau Berger, who has several methods of vengeance in mind, including a daring heist.
.
Meanwhile, Benny is getting married and is relying on others to help him with all of the details, from his daughter to his partner Cupido. They are crushed when their former boss resigns from the Hawks before reinstating them, but she reappears in a different, more apt role for her, and gets them on temporary loan. Book #8 is a bit slow at times, but satisfying in the end.
]]> The Lie Maker 187016435 352 Linwood Barclay 0063276275 Skip 3 thriller 4.08 2023 The Lie Maker
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Skip
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: thriller
review:
Jack Givins, a writer, is a struggling financially when his agent provides a weird lead: the U.S. Marshals are seeking someone to write background stories for people going into the federal Witness Protection Program (WPP.) Jack himself is the son of a man who to avoid prison for killing someone, turned state's evidence and disappeared into WPP, where his wife and son refused to follow. A reader will really need to suspend belief for this one, as there are too many contrivances. Jack asks to meet the protectee to make the backstory more realistic, the Marshals did not know about his connection to WPP?, his father has seen Jack over the years, etc. Of course, there is an ulterior motive for hiring Jack, which is dragged out too long, at least for my liking.
]]> <![CDATA[Countdown to Midnight (Nick Flynn, #2)]]> 58842711 In this sequel to Dale Brown's New York Times bestselling Arctic Storm Rising, former U.S. Air Force officer Nick Flynn is caught up in a shadow war against allied Russia and Iran--a duo wielding a terrifying new weapon.

Nick Flynn is back in action, and he has a new employer--a shadowy intelligence outfit whose roots go back to the very beginning of the Cold War. But his first mission for them almost becomes his last. While meeting with a high-ranking Iranian dissident in the Austrian Alps, Flynn is ambushed and nearly killed... just after learning that Iran and Russia are working together on a mysterious project--one they have codenamed MIDNIGHT.

Flynn is determined to uncover MIDNIGHT's lethal secrets. Why are Moscow and Tehran covertly retrofitting a massive oil tanker in an Iranian port? What purpose lies behind their closely guarded effort, the brainchild of Pavel Voronin--a ruthless billionaire allied with Russia's autocratic president?

Flynn and his new team plan to put an end to the nefarious project, but they're dogged at every step by Voronin's hired Raven Syndicate killers--elite veterans of Russia's special forces and intelligence services. As they track the enemy from the streets of Vienna to deep inside hostile Iran, Flynn and his crew must repeatedly risk their lives to pierce the layers of deception around this shadow war.

It's a race against time to stop Voronin from launching his terrifying new weapon against the United States--potentially killing hundreds of millions and overturning the world's balance of power forever. The odds are stacked high against Flynn and his team... but that's never stopped Nick before.]]> 400 Dale Brown 0063015080 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 4.00 2022 Countdown to Midnight (Nick Flynn, #2)
author: Dale Brown
name: Skip
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Former US Air Force Captain Nick Flynn and his team of former military operatives get caught up in a war scenario where Russians and Iranians have developed a massive new weapon, which they intend to use against the United States, potentially killing hundreds of millions and forever changing the world order. Flynn, super pilot Laura Van Horn, and his team have to locate the doomsday weapon, which is cleverly cloaked, and seemingly impossible to locate in the open seas. They are being challenged by the Raven Syndicate, a group of Russian elite soldiers, all along the way. Good military warfare fiction, reminiscent of Dale Brown's better-known Patrick McLanahan series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Big Empty (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #20)]]> 201750163 Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, face a cryptic case and a terrifying, unpredictable killer in this twisty, satisfying thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.

Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. The police couldn't find her dad and neither could the detectives her mother hired, but now, ten years later, Traci is a super-popular influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire a new detective: Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a loser, but Elvis heads to Rancha where he learns an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the simple missing persons case becomes far more sinister and dangerous. Elvis calls in his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, to help, but even Pike might not be able to help.

As Elvis Cole and Joe Pike follow Tommy Beller's trail into the twisted, nightmare depths of a monstrous evil, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey, and when everyone is a victim, can Elvis Cole save them all?

In a case that tests Elvis Cole's loyalty to his clients and himself, the truth must come out no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done.]]> 373 Robert Crais 0525535799 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.55 2025 The Big Empty (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #20)
author: Robert Crais
name: Skip
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/09
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Traci Beller is a high-profile influencer with millions of followers and a bright future, but cannot get over the disappearance of her beloved father when she was just 13. Despite resistance from her managers, mother and uncle, she hires Elvis Cole because of his excellent reputation, even after he tells her he likely will not find him. Her father was a simple repairman, who never returned home one night, but Elvis starts digging into the case and finds some anomalies, including a phone call from his last job witnessed by the homeowner, which was not on his phone's call log. Eventually, Elvis gets to the awful truth of what happened, and has to tell Traci. Of course, Elvis finds himself in trouble along the way as certain folks want the truth to remain hidden, and his partner, Joe Pike, is needed to assist, although unusual for this series, the tough guy fails in at least one respect. GR's average rating of 4.5 stars is spot on.
]]> <![CDATA[Dead in the Frame (Pentecost and Parker Mystery, #5)]]> 212806627 The most dramatic installment yet in the Nero Award-winning Pentecost and Parker series, as Will scrambles to solve a shocking murder before Lillian takes the fall for the crime.

NEW YORK CITY, 1947:ĚýWealthy financier and ghoulish connoisseur of crime, Jessup Quincannon, is dead, and famed detective Lillian Pentecost is under arrest for his murder. Means, motive, and a mountain of evidence leave everyone believing she's guilty. Everyone, that is, except Willowjean “Willâ€� Parker, who knows for a fact her boss is innocent. She just doesn’t know if she can prove it.

With Lillian locked away in the House of D–New York City’s infamous women’s prison–Will is left to root out the real killer. Was it a member of Quincannon’s murder-obsessed Black Museum Club? Maybe it was his jilted lover? Or his beautiful, certainly-sociopathic bodyguard? And what about the mob hit-man who just happened to disappear after the shots were fired?Ěý

With the city barreling toward the trial of the century, each day brings fresh headlines and hints of long-buried scandals from Lillian’s past. Will is desperate to get her boss out from behind bars before her reputation is destroyed. Because the House of D is no kind place, especially for a woman with multiple sclerosis. Or one with so many enemies. Her health failing and targeted by someone who wants her dead, Lillian needs to survive long enough to take the stand.Ěý

With time running out on both sides of the prison walls, Will and Lillian must wager everything to uncover who put their thumb on the scales and a bullet in Quincannon’s head. Before Lady Justice brings her sword down, ending Pentecost and Parker's adventures once and for all.]]> 384 Stephen Spotswood 0385550464 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.31 Dead in the Frame (Pentecost and Parker Mystery, #5)
author: Stephen Spotswood
name: Skip
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Another excellent book in this series. Lillian Pentecost’s partner and chief investigator, Willowjean "Will" Parker, comes back from her first-ever vacation with her girlfriend to find her boss being taken off to jail in handcuffs and their office/home being ransacked. Pentecost is charged with killing a man (Jessup Quincannon) she loathes and has threatened because of his obsession with murder and her family's somewhat sordid history. Denied bail and suffering from multiple sclerosis, Lillian's time in NY's Women's Detention Center is awful, although she befriends her unusual cellmate, whose claim of innocence may actually be true. Sadly, both the press and cops think Pentecost is guilty so the burden of proving her innocence and keeping the office open falls on Will and their intrepid housekeeper. Will starts investigating the others who were present at Quincannon's home, when he was killed, working with his very mysterious bodyguard, and then some of the other attendees start dying too. Clever as she is, Will solves the mystery, which involved some real chicanery.
]]> <![CDATA[The Beijing Betrayal (Marcus Ryker, #6)]]> 214758109 Can Marcus Ryker and his team of elite operatives stop a secret plot to unleash the most devastating sneak attack on the U.S. and her allies in history—before millions of Americans die?

In the pulse-pounding final installment of the Marcus Ryker series, the leaders of Communist China are secretly plotting to invade Taiwan and challenge American supremacy in the Pacific.

And no one in Washington has any idea what’s coming.

Marcus Ryker has been tasked with hunting down Abu Nakba, the most wanted terrorist in the world. The latest intel sends him and his team to Pakistan. There, they discover a horrifying secret inside a state-of-the-art lab. Marcus orders the lab rigged with explosives, but the plan goes bad, and a massive explosion rocks the city.

News of the blast breaks in Washington just as President Carlos Hernandez is engaged in tense trade negotiations to forge a landmark agreement with China on trade and counterterrorism.

Little does the president realize that Beijing is almost finished preparing its imminent invasion of Taiwan.

Or that a terrifying new virus is about to be released inside the U.S. to kill millions and thwart Washington’s capacity to defend its ally.

In the riveting conclusion to the bestselling series, Ryker and his team must race to stop Beijing and the Kairos terror network before they unleash a catastrophe that brings the superpowers to the brink of nuclear war.

A thrilling, fast-paced suspense novel for fans of Jack Carr, Ryan Steck, and Kyle MillsPerfect for fans of high-stakes geopolitical thrillers full of heart-racing actionThe last book in the Marcus Ryker series by New York Times bestselling author Joel C. Rosenberg]]> 416 Joel C. Rosenberg 1496437993 Skip 4 thriller On Her Majesty's Secret Service) to cripple any U.S. response to the attack on Taiwan. Once again, Ryker's team, with supplemented by some Navy Seals go to India to destroy the production plant for the virus. Ryker's mortality and love relationship with the DDO of the CIA are major themes.]]> 4.44 2025 The Beijing Betrayal (Marcus Ryker, #6)
author: Joel C. Rosenberg
name: Skip
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: thriller
review:
The sixth and last installment of the Marcus Ryker series. Marcus has been charged by the President to capture or kill the terrorist responsible for a horrific attack in Chicago (Book #5.) His team is inserted in Pakistan, barely escaping with casualties and a massive explosion is triggered to cover the tracks of the terrorist's work there. Meanwhile, China making cooperative overtures to the U.S. while secretly planning to launch missiles on Taipei and nuclear weapons on their Taiwan's military because the leading candidate is a staunch opponent of "One China." Ryker's prized Russian asset dies, and Ryker realizes the traitor's body has massive political value to the Russian president, and gets him to sell out the Chinese plan, including the terrorist's plan to release a incredibly deadly disease in the U.S. (via aerosols ... think On Her Majesty's Secret Service) to cripple any U.S. response to the attack on Taiwan. Once again, Ryker's team, with supplemented by some Navy Seals go to India to destroy the production plant for the virus. Ryker's mortality and love relationship with the DDO of the CIA are major themes.
]]> <![CDATA[Broken Fields (Cash Blackbear Mysteries, #4)]]> 214274140 Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman,Ěýis back on the case after two men are found dead on a rural farm in Minnesota in the next installment of the acclaimedĚýNative crime series.

1970s Minnesota. It's spring in the Red River Valley and Cash Blackbear is hoping to make some spending money doing spring field work for local farmers while attending college—and she finds a dead man on theĚýkitchen floor of the property's rented farmhouse. The only possible witness to the murder is the young daughter of a Native laborer. The girl is too terrifiedĚýto speak about what she’s witnessed, and her parents seem to have vanished.Ěý

In the wake of the murder, Cash can't deny her intuitive she is suspicious of the dead man's grieving widow, who offers to take in the girl temporarily. While Cash scours the county and White Earth reservation trying to find the missing mother before the girl is placed in the care of a social worker—the same woman who placed Cash in fosterĚýcare a decade earlier—another body turns up. Concerned about the girl's fate, and with the help of local Sheriff Wheaton, Cash races against the clock to figure out the truth of what happened in the farmhouse.

µţ°ů´Ç°ě±đ˛ÔĚýąóľ±±đ±ô»ĺ˛ő is aĚýcompelling, fast read with seamlessly woven in details of rural life, the American Indian Movement, abusive labor practices, and women's liberation.]]> 272 Marcie R. Rendon 1641296585 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.18 2025 Broken Fields (Cash Blackbear Mysteries, #4)
author: Marcie R. Rendon
name: Skip
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/12
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Cash Blackbear is ploughing a field, wondering why a car has been running all day at the nearby farmhouse. When she goes to look, she finds the dead body of her employer as well as a young Native girl, who is too scared to talk, despite Cash's best efforts. Her parents have disappeared, pushing the young child into foster care. Cash promises to find her parents, having been in similar straits herself, including with the same uncaring woman making the placement decisions. Somehow, the child ends up with the grieving widow, who does not like indigenous people, especially Cash. Cash visits with her spiritual friend, Jonesy, who tries to guide her. The widow hires a young virile farmhand, who is helping in multiple ways. Suspicion falls on the little girl's mother, but when Cash learns the truth from the mother, she realizes that getting justice will require her usual unorthodox methods, hoodwinking her Sheriff friend and protector.
]]> Blood Ties (Kongeriket, #2) 213243951 384 Jo Nesbø 0593803612 Skip 1 foreign-translated, thriller The Kingdom, which I disliked and would not have wasted my time reading this book. Carl and Roy Opgard are brothers in a small town called Os, and seem intent on doing whatever they can to succeed. Truly despicable characters, who have very bad blood between them stemming from one brother cleaning up the other's messes, who then takes advantage of his own sibling. Meanwhile, the town cop is after them for the killings convinced that a number of convenient accidents, on a curving and icy road, are anything but.]]> 3.84 2024 Blood Ties (Kongeriket, #2)
author: Jo Nesbø
name: Skip
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 1
read at: 2025/02/18
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller
review:
I wish I had known this was a sequel to Nesbo's The Kingdom, which I disliked and would not have wasted my time reading this book. Carl and Roy Opgard are brothers in a small town called Os, and seem intent on doing whatever they can to succeed. Truly despicable characters, who have very bad blood between them stemming from one brother cleaning up the other's messes, who then takes advantage of his own sibling. Meanwhile, the town cop is after them for the killings convinced that a number of convenient accidents, on a curving and icy road, are anything but.
]]> <![CDATA[Fun & Games (Charlie Hardie #1)]]> 9583669
Languishing in self-imposed exile, Hardie has become a glorified house sitter. His latest gig comes replete with an illegally squatting B-movie actress who rants about hit men who specialize in making deaths look like accidents. Unfortunately, it's the real deal. Hardie finds himself squared off against a small army of the most lethal men in the world: The Accident People.

It's nothing personal-the girl just happens to be the next name on their list. For Hardie, though, it's intensely personal. He's not about to let more innocent people die. Not on his watch.]]> 286 Duane Swierczynski 0316133280 Skip 3 thriller 3.92 2011 Fun & Games (Charlie Hardie #1)
author: Duane Swierczynski
name: Skip
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/10
date added: 2025/03/10
shelves: thriller
review:
Charlie Hardie seems like a no-good drifter, who basically housesits for people, drinking and watching movies. He flies to L.A. for a job in the hills, only to discover the key is gone. He breaks in to the house where he is clobbered by a beautiful but paranoid woman, who is sure he is one of "them" and there to kill her. She's had a very rough day, where she has been run off the road, and stabbed with a needle of poison, barely escaping with her life. Swiercynski rolls out the story of actress Lane Madden, Hardie, and the crazed killers very slowly, and eventually, we learn why Madden is supposed to die and how Hardie survives almost a dozen attempts on his life. Far fetched for sure, but an okay read.
]]> <![CDATA[London Calling (City Spies #6)]]> 214194957 In this sixth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies stages a rescue in Rome in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Charlie Thorne.

Cairo, the newest member of the City Spies, takes the lead when his sister disappears in Istanbul. Determined to save the family of one of their own, the team risks discovery as their search leads them to Rome. Meanwhile, there’s been intel that seems to threaten the royal wedding about to take place in Westminster, bringing the team back to the UK on an official case for MI6. With so much security all over the city, it’s harder than ever for the City Spies to go unnoticed. Will their skills be up to the task?]]> 398 James Ponti 166593252X Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.73 London Calling (City Spies #6)
author: James Ponti
name: Skip
average rating: 4.73
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Another excellent installment of the City Spies series. Annie, the daughter of Mother (who leads the City Spies) and Clementine (who allegiances are uncertain) and who wants nothing to do with the spy business of her parents, is threatened in Italy and goes on the run. Her brother and the City Spies team are working to protect the future Queen because of a threat that is supposed to happen at the Royal Wedding. The City Spies divide up to solve both problems, and face numerous threats, especially a technology-based one, where someone is trying to destroy an integrated computer network for the world's spy agencies. As always, author James Ponti continues to add to the depth of his characters in this sixth book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Medici Return (Cotton Malone, #19)]]> 214175230 From celebrated New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry comes the latest installment in his wildly popular Cotton Malone series --- an adventure that takes Cotton to Italy and Tuscany to solve a five hundred year old mystery.
Ěý
Cotton Malone is on the hunt for a forgotten 16th century Pledge of Christ â€� a sworn promise made by Pope Julius II that evidences a monetary debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries, now worth in the trillions of dollars. ĚýBut collecting that debt centers around what happened to the famed Medici of Florence â€� a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago.Ěý Two more things also hang in the balance. ĚýWho will become the next prime minister of Italy, and who will be the next pope. ĚýFinding answers to all three proves difficult until Cotton realizes that everything hinges on when, and if, the Medici return.]]> 403 Steve Berry 1538770563 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 3.97 2025 The Medici Return (Cotton Malone, #19)
author: Steve Berry
name: Skip
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Five hundred years ago, the Catholic Church was struggling financially. Pope Julius II borrowed money from the powerful and wealthy Medici family, issuing a Pledge of Christ. However, the debt was never repaid, and fast forward to today, where there is are power plays in process in Italian politics and with Papal succession. The Pledge of Christ was thought to be ended as it can only be claimed by a bloodline descendant of the Medici family, whose bloodline was thought to have ended during the 18th century. However, verifying lineage or putting a permanent end to the line is a many billions of dollars issue. Cotton Malone is drawn into the drama and internecine battle. Fun, but needed better editing.
]]> Strange Pictures 216670080
A pregnant woman’s sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.

A child’s picture of his home contains a dark secret message.

A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbit hole that will reveal a horrifying reality.

Structured around these nine childlike drawings, every one holding a disturbing clue, this novel invites readers to piece together the harrowing truth behind each and the overarching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the bestselling international debut from mystery-horror YouTube sensation Uketsu—an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan's most talked about contemporary authors.]]> 236 Uketsu 0063433087 Skip 4 4.04 2022 Strange Pictures
author: Uketsu
name: Skip
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller, horror
review:
A clever, but quirky mash-up, with elements of horror, mystery, and crime, where the reader is drawn into the various interconnected stories and characters to help solve the puzzle and identify the guilty. Uketsu is a Japanese manga phenom and mystery, and the translator (Jim Rion) did an amazing job, especially given the various timelines.
]]> Nemesis (Orphan X, #10) 211004916 No greater friend. No deadlier enemy.

Evan Smoak is a highly trained former government assassin who has survived for years by keeping his circle to a few trusted confidants and a strict code he calls "The Ten Commandments." But when Evan suddenly finds himself at odds with his oldest friend, all the rules he lives by shatter--and the consequences are murderous.

Tommy Stojack might be Evan's best friend in the world. He's a gifted gunsmith who has created much of Evan's own weapons and combat gear. But now, he has apparently crossed one of Evan's hardest lines and their argument explodes into open warfare. Now Evan has no choice but to track and face down his only friend.

In the meantime, Tommy has left town in order to honor his own promise to help a dead friend's son. While Tommy is fighting to save the son with everything he's got, Evan arrives with vengeance in mind.

But as deadly as the former Orphan X is, there is an even more dangerous threat about to arrive on the scene. The only question left is will any of them get out alive.]]> 464 Gregg Hurwitz 1250871743 Skip 5 thriller, series-in-progress No better friend. No worse enemy. The tenth installment in the Orphan X/Evan Smoak series centers on his relationship with his armorer, Tommy Stojack. Evan has decided that Tommy's provision of weaponry to the Wolf, an assassin who did her best to kill Evan to protect a human trafficking operation must be sanctioned, and heads off to a confrontation where only one of them will survive. Each is stubbornly intransigent, and after talking, they part peaceably, but with irreconcilable differences. Upon Evan's return he is sniped and then has to defeat a group of crazed killers. Tommy heads off to help the wayward son of a KIA military buddy, whose last request was to help his family. The son and an idiot friend have carelessly killed a Mexican family, and the son is scared. Tommy has his view of how to make amends, but once Evan finds out what happens, all he can see is grounds for more killing, especially since the local sheriff is protecting the boys. Great action, intense plot, with sideshow friction between Evan and his tech friend, Joey. ]]> 4.18 2025 Nemesis (Orphan X, #10)
author: Gregg Hurwitz
name: Skip
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
No better friend. No worse enemy. The tenth installment in the Orphan X/Evan Smoak series centers on his relationship with his armorer, Tommy Stojack. Evan has decided that Tommy's provision of weaponry to the Wolf, an assassin who did her best to kill Evan to protect a human trafficking operation must be sanctioned, and heads off to a confrontation where only one of them will survive. Each is stubbornly intransigent, and after talking, they part peaceably, but with irreconcilable differences. Upon Evan's return he is sniped and then has to defeat a group of crazed killers. Tommy heads off to help the wayward son of a KIA military buddy, whose last request was to help his family. The son and an idiot friend have carelessly killed a Mexican family, and the son is scared. Tommy has his view of how to make amends, but once Evan finds out what happens, all he can see is grounds for more killing, especially since the local sheriff is protecting the boys. Great action, intense plot, with sideshow friction between Evan and his tech friend, Joey.
]]> The Enigma Girl 212650709 A masterclass in espionage thriller fiction from the heir to John le Carre for fans of Mick Herron, Charles Cumming and David McCloskey. Meet disgraced MI5 agent Slim Parsons, a character who - like Lisbeth Salander - will sear your soul

Slim Parsons is all but burned.

Her last deep cover job for MI5 ended with a life-and-death struggle on a private jet that caused her to go on the run from both the deadly target and her angry bosses in the Security Service. They say that violence comes too easily to her; that she's bordering on delinquent and unsuitable for the roll of an MI5 operative.

Yet she is recalled and asked to infiltrate a news website that's causing alarm in the highest circles. It is staffed by a group descended from wartime codebreakers operating from an unassuming office block near Bletchley Park. Operation Linesman looks like a come down, the curtain on a brilliant career in the shadows. However, she accepts the assignment on condition that the Security Service searches for her missing brother.

Linesman turns out to be anything but simple. Her personal loss, her previous deep cover role, and a threat to MI5 itself from her original target come together in a three-way collision.

And all the while she is watched by someone even deeper in the shadows than she is.]]> 448 Henry Porter 0802164439 Skip 4 thriller 3.92 The Enigma Girl
author: Henry Porter
name: Skip
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: thriller
review:
Excellent thriller, with a strong and memorable female protagonist named Slim Parsons, a deep cover agent for MI-5. She has been on the run since a life-and-death struggle on a private jet with a sociopath, with deep penetration in the British government. MI-5 thinks she is overly violent, but decides to place her into another assignment to penetrate a web-based news site, after she assures them she was saving her own life. In return, she asks them to help locate her missing and presumed dead brother, since her mysterious mother is dying. Slim has to convince the principals that she is a bona fide writer, dangling a story about human trafficking, risking her life to save victims. Turns out, the smuggling operation has loose ties back to the sociopath, who then discovers Slim's death was faked, and wants her dead for real.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #5-6)]]> 42649583
Lisbeth Salander is in critical condition, and facing trial for a triple murder, and the only one who can save her is her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist.]]> 136 Sylvain Runberg Skip 3 The Girl Who Played with Fire, and she and Mikael Blomqvist are under attack from ex-SAPO officers to cover up the excesses they allowed Zala (Lisbeth's sicko father.) Lisbeth's brother also plays a major role and they want him dead too. Lisbeth turns herself in, and is brought to trial. I found the images of certain characters inconsistent in this compilation, and the story unnecessarily rushed.]]> 4.00 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium, #5-6)
author: Sylvain Runberg
name: Skip
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/16
date added: 2025/02/28
shelves: foreign-translated, graphic-novels, thriller
review:
The third volume in Runberg's graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson's brilliant series. Everyone should read the novels first, because the graphic versions omit so much of the story in order to keep the panels manageable. Lisbeth is recovering from the events at the end of The Girl Who Played with Fire, and she and Mikael Blomqvist are under attack from ex-SAPO officers to cover up the excesses they allowed Zala (Lisbeth's sicko father.) Lisbeth's brother also plays a major role and they want him dead too. Lisbeth turns herself in, and is brought to trial. I found the images of certain characters inconsistent in this compilation, and the story unnecessarily rushed.
]]> Five Decembers 57650856

"Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost every reader."
Pico Iyer

December 1941. America teeters on the brink of war, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, police detective Joe McGrady is assigned to investigate a homicide that will change his life forever. Because the trail of murder he uncovers will lead him across the Pacific, far from home and the woman he loves; and though the U.S. doesn't know it yet, a Japanese fleet is already steaming toward Pearl Harbor.

This extraordinary novel is so much more than just a gripping crime story—it's a story of survival against all odds, of love and loss and the human cost of war. Spanning the entirety of World War II, FIVE DECEMBERS is a beautiful, masterful, powerful novel that will live in your memory forever.]]> 432 James Kestrel 178909612X Skip 4 4.55 2021 Five Decembers
author: James Kestrel
name: Skip
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/12/19
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: thriller, historical-fiction, award-winners
review:
An excellent murder mystery starting in early December 1941 when a junior Hawaiian policeman is called to the scene of a horrific double murder where a soldier has been tortured in front of his Asian girlfriend. Upon returning to the scene, the policeman gets in a gunfight, killing an accomplice. Because the soldier is a nephew of a ranking commander, Joe McGrady is sent overseas to track down another person involved in the crime. McGrady is smart and skilled, and begins to close in on the killer, and more importantly, the motive when the Japanese invade Hong Kong, and he is taken prisoner with other English-speaking foreigners. Joe narrowly escapes a prison camp, but is imprisoned anyway, never giving up his relentless pursuit of justice. Very well done: 4.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[The Blood Archive (Russian Trilogy, #2)]]> 24304492
A KGB killer, a beautiful young prima donna with a wild past and a Midwestern deputy sheriff who has lost his way collide in this desperate search for the cache of documents worth billions that could change the course of history.
The mismatched Katya Marston and Roo Yoder end up on the killer's hit list as they race between London, New York, Ohio and the French Alps to find the archive before it can bring down the Russian government.

This historically accurate, action packed novel weaves the dark violent past of the Russian Revolution involving the Romanov murders and the deliberations of Stalin's murderous clique into an equally intriguing contemporary adventure exploring the mystery surrounding the lives of the three main characters.]]> 423 Minerva Taylor 1940745934 Skip 4
P.S. How weird to have two consecutive, unrelated books with a major character named Roo, neither of whom is a marsupial?]]> 4.15 2014 The Blood Archive (Russian Trilogy, #2)
author: Minerva Taylor
name: Skip
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2017/04/14
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: series-in-progress, thriller, historical-fiction
review:
Continuation of a trilogy, with mostly new characters. Katya Marston is a privileged English orphan, who closest relationship Abigail is found dead in the ruins of the World Trade Center; however, her body has the same markings as a murder in Tecumseh County, Ohio, bringing a local deputy sheriff (Roo) to NY City to investigate. The ties back to Russia are numerous, as Abigail's art gallery is hosting a rare show of icons, angering many. Everyone is after Katya, who has no idea why until she and Roo begin to solve the clues left by Abigail as they are chased by competing interests. Well written, taut, historical thriller: trying to resurrect the Romanovs to rule Russia. Looking forward to the third book.

P.S. How weird to have two consecutive, unrelated books with a major character named Roo, neither of whom is a marsupial?
]]> <![CDATA[Primary Storm (Lewis Cole, #6)]]> 166961 278 Brendan DuBois 0312327331 Skip 4 thriller 3.98 2006 Primary Storm (Lewis Cole, #6)
author: Brendan DuBois
name: Skip
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2015/11/03
date added: 2025/01/15
shelves: thriller
review:
Another enjoyable Lewis Cole mystery. It is Presidential primary season in New Hampshire. Lewis' girlfriend, Annie Flynn, is working for Georgian Senator Jackson Hale's campaign. While attending a rally for him, Lewis steps outside because he feels ill, thwarting a plan to frame him for an assassination attempt with a gun belonging to Lewis. Then a dead body shows up at his front door, requiring the services of his good friend and retired mobster, Felix Tinios. DuBois does a nice job of capturing a frenetic time in New Hampshire when the state's primary becomes a battleground for candidates. An interesting twist is that Hale's wife was Cole's college sweetheart, and there is lots of manipulating in this one -- political, professional and personal.
]]> <![CDATA[Whiplash River (Shake Bouchon, #2)]]> 13426211
Next thing Shake knows, his restaurant’s gone up in flames and he’s on the run from Baby Jesus, two freelance assassins, and a beautiful but ferocious FBI agent. Out of options, Shake has to turn to the mysterious Quinn for help. Suddenly Shake’s up to his neck in a dangerous score that he’ll never pull off unless he can convince an even more dangerous ex-girlfriend to join him.]]> 322 Lou Berney 0062115286 Skip 3 thriller Gutshot Straight, I moved onto this second book in the series. Shake is a former wheel man, who served time in prison, instead of ratting out his Armenian mobster friends. He left his soulmate, in fear of her leaving him, fulfilling his dream to open a restaurant, finding himself in Belize, indebted to a local thug and loan shark. Already a target, Shake saves the life of an old guy in his restaurant (Quinn), only to discover many others are now after his scalp, including an aggressive FBI agent. He throws in with Quinn [spoilers removed] to steal a historic artifact to buy his way out of trouble. Of course, things go sideways. A bit farther fetched than the first book, if that is possible.]]> 3.72 2012 Whiplash River (Shake Bouchon, #2)
author: Lou Berney
name: Skip
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: thriller
review:
Having recently read the first Shake Bouchon novel, Gutshot Straight, I moved onto this second book in the series. Shake is a former wheel man, who served time in prison, instead of ratting out his Armenian mobster friends. He left his soulmate, in fear of her leaving him, fulfilling his dream to open a restaurant, finding himself in Belize, indebted to a local thug and loan shark. Already a target, Shake saves the life of an old guy in his restaurant (Quinn), only to discover many others are now after his scalp, including an aggressive FBI agent. He throws in with Quinn [spoilers removed] to steal a historic artifact to buy his way out of trouble. Of course, things go sideways. A bit farther fetched than the first book, if that is possible.
]]> Those We Thought We Knew 63249462 From award-winning writer David Joy comes a searing new novel about the cracks that form in a small North Carolina community and the evils that unfurl from its center.

Toya Gardner, a young Black artist from Atlanta, has returned to her ancestral home in the North Carolina mountains to trace her family history and complete her graduate thesis. But when she encounters a still-standing Confederate monument in the heart of town, she sets her sights on something bigger.

Meanwhile, local deputies find a man sleeping in the back of a station wagon and believe him to be nothing more than some slack-jawed drifter. Yet a search of the man's vehicle reveals that he is a high-ranking member of the Klan, and the uncovering of a notebook filled with local names threatens to turn the mountain on end.

After two horrific crimes split the county apart, every soul must wrestle with deep and unspoken secrets that stretch back for generations. Those We Thought We Knew is an urgent unraveling of the dark underbelly of a community. Richly drawn and bracingly honest, it asks what happens when the people you've always known turn out to be monsters, what do you do when everything you ever believed crumbles away?]]> 400 David Joy 0525536914 Skip 4 thriller 4.25 2023 Those We Thought We Knew
author: David Joy
name: Skip
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/18
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: thriller
review:
Toya Gardner is a 24 year old Black woman artist spending her summer living with her grandmother Vessa in her ancestral home, while completing her master’s thesis. Toya is very outspoken in drawing attention to deeply buried racism in her home town. First, she recreates a graveyard as an art installation, highlighting a college moving the buried remains of African and Native Americans to erect a new building. Then, she throws red paint on a prominently situated Confederate statue, pissing off much of the town's white population. Meanwhile, a white deputy is kidnapped and almost beaten to death for his liberal ideas about race relations. Toya is murdered. Leah Green is investigating Toya's murder while the Sheriff is working to solve the beating. Leah is convinced the two crimes are related while the Sheriff does not. Good civil rights mystery, with a twist.
]]> <![CDATA[Truth Be Told (Zara Kaleel, #2)]]> 56553795
With the help of assault counsellor, Zara Kaleel, Kamran reports the incident in the hopes that will be the end of it. But it’s only the beginning�

Powerful, explosive and important, Truth Be Told is a contemporary courtroom drama that vividly captures today’s society. You will not stop thinking about it for a long time to come.]]> 384 Kia Abdullah 0008314764 Skip 4 thriller 4.19 2020 Truth Be Told (Zara Kaleel, #2)
author: Kia Abdullah
name: Skip
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/20
shelves: thriller
review:
Another fine legal thriller by Kia Abdullah, second in the Zara Kaleel series. Kamran Hadid is a student in a fancy boys prep school in England when he is victimized by another male student, when both are drunk following a celebration. His entire life is forever changed, and he decides that the other student should be prosecuted. This creates discord in his family, among his schoolmates, and of course, the school administration is furious. The court case is well argued by both sides, and the ending was a big surprise (at least to me.)
]]> <![CDATA[Double Barrel Bluff (Shake Bouchon, #3)]]> 27064318 Edgar Award-nominated and USA Today-bestselling crime writer Lou Berney returns to his critically acclaimed thriller series starring former mob wheelman Shake Bouchon, who finds himself reluctantly involved in a high-stakes hostage rescue, among the mighty temples and shadowy underground of Cambodia.

During his years as a wheelman for the Armenian mob in Las Vegas, Shake Bouchon didn’t think of himself as the settling-down type. But now he’s happily married to Gina, the love of his life—and former adversary—in Indiana, of all places.

The great thing about Bloomington, for two people with exceptionally checkered pasts, is that everyone is nice and no one knows them. Until the day a brutal Armenian thug who has always hated Shake shows up in his backyard. He demands that Shake help him find the missing mob boss, the pakhan—the dangerous and beautiful Alexandra “Lexy� Ilandryan, who also happens to be Shake’s ex-girlfriend.

Shake’s got a lot of history with Lexy, so he reluctantly agrees to travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where she was last seen. Once there, he finds himself in a predatory underworld of Cambodian gangsters, mob politics, and opportunistic expats, where the stakes aren’t clear and everyone is looking to gain. With only the help of a clairvoyant hippie and the Armenian thug, Shake becomes involved in a high-stakes negotiation for Lexy that might cost him his own life. But perhaps most threatening of all is Gina’s wrath when she arrives in Cambodia intent on saving Shake from himself—and from all the people trying to kill him.

With Lou Berney’s trademark wit, flawless plotting, vibrant locale, and memorable characters, Double Barrel Bluff is another unputdownable, globetrotting adventure.]]> 320 Lou Berney 006229248X Skip 4 thriller 3.94 2016 Double Barrel Bluff (Shake Bouchon, #3)
author: Lou Berney
name: Skip
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: thriller
review:
The best book in this trilogy, and gratifying to see a good writer improving. Shake and Gina are married, settled, and living simply in the Midwest. Dikran, a vicious Armenian enforcer, who hates Shake, shows up, demanding Shake help him find the pakhan (mob boss, Lexy Ilandryan), who has gone incommunicado. Shake tries to argue she is fine until Dikran says she missed calling him on an important anniversary date (when they arrived penniless in the U.S.) So, Shake,who always does the right thing, heads off to save his ex-girlfriend, over his wife's objections. Kidnapped by some yahoos in Siem Reap, Cambodia, they have no idea how much trouble they are attracting. Lots of action and humor and violence as Shake gets closer to finding her with the help of a hippie, who feels auras. Lexy's #2 shows up, whom nobody trusts to deliver the ransom and there is a great deal of double crossing. Well done.
]]> <![CDATA[Kowalski's in Love (Sigma Force, #2.5)]]> 36423877 Experience a heart-pumping and thrilling tale of suspense!

Originally published in THRILLER (2006),edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson.

In this Thriller Short from #1 New York Times bestselling writer, James Rollins, brings a story that’s no love story, at least not in the traditional sense. Fans of Rollins’s Sigma Force series know Joe Kowalski, a naval seaman with the heart of a hero, but lacking the brainpower to go with it. Kowalski stays in trouble and here readers will get to know a bit more about his backstory. One that illustrates something Kowalski seems to live by. Dumb luck is better than no luck at all.

Don’t miss any of these exciting Thriller

James Penney’s New Identity by Lee Child Operation Northwoods by James Grippando Epitaph by J. A. Konrath The Face in the Window by Heather Graham Kowalski’s in Love by James Rollins The Hunt for Dmitri by Gayle Lynds Disfigured by Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer The Abelard Sanction by David Morrell Falling by Chris Mooney Success of a Mission by Dennis Lynds The Portal by John Lescroart and M. J. Rose The Double Dealer by David Liss Dirty Weather by Gregg Hurwitz Spirit Walker by David Dun At the Drop of a Hat by Denise Hamilton The Other Side of the Mirror by Eric Van Lustbader Man Catch by Christopher Rice Goodnight, Sweet Mother by Alex Kava Sacrificial Lion by Grant Blackwood Interlude at Duane’s by F. Paul Wilson The Powder Monkey by Ted Bell Surviving Toronto by M. Diane Vogt Assassins by Christopher Reich The Athens Solution by Brad Thor Diplomatic Constraints by Raelynn Hillhouse Kill Zone by Robert Liparulo The Devils� Due by Steve Berry The Tuesday Club by Katherine Neville Gone Fishing by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child]]> 27 James Rollins 148809442X Skip 3 4.02 2006 Kowalski's in Love (Sigma Force, #2.5)
author: James Rollins
name: Skip
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/12
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: thriller, short-story-or-stories, e-books
review:
Kowalski meets Sigma Force. After his boat blows up, he is marooned on an island, which is about to be obliterated to contain a deadly pathogen. A desperate woman seeks his help to find the antidote and get to the Sigma Force pick-up site. Of course, a number of obstacles have to be overcome, including crazed animals.
]]> <![CDATA[Gutshot Straight (Shake Bouchon, #1)]]> 7037737
Shake decides to set Gina free and now the two of them are on the run to Panama, hoping to sell the valuable (and unusual) contents of the briefcase. But first Shake will have to out-maneuver two angry crime bosses, an Armenian thug plagued by erectile super-function, and a devious billionaire swindler. Not to mention, Shake will have to survive his own heart, since he's going to discover that Gina is more complicated than he thought.]]> 304 Lou Berney 0061766046 Skip 4 thriller 3.80 2009 Gutshot Straight (Shake Bouchon, #1)
author: Lou Berney
name: Skip
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/09
date added: 2024/12/10
shelves: thriller
review:
3.5 stars rounded up, mostly because of some humorous dialogue and developments. Charles "Shake" Bouchon is a professional wheel man, who goes to prison, instead of ratting out his employer: head of the Armenian mob, who takes pity on him upon his release, giving him a simple job. Of course, it's not simple and Shake cannot turn over a beautiful, but larcenous women, to a Vegas slimeball known as the Whale, who wants her dead. A lot of backstabbing and double dealing especially when Shake and the girl find out how much the merchandise is worth that the Whale is willing to trade. Everyone heads to Panama to monetize the merchandise, and there is even more double dealing. Kind of fun.
]]> Hood Rat (Hood Rat #1) 54726 Hood Rat (n.): A woman of questionable repute, one who has been known to "get around" in the 'hood.

Yoshi is young, fine, and larcenous. She lives her life playing on men's hearts as well as their pockets. She learns the hard way that all that glitters isn't gold. Billy, a former high school basketball star, is at the end of her rope with the opposite sex. To her, all men are dogs, so she secretly seeks comfort in the arms of women, until she meets a man who makes her reevaluate her feelings. Reese is an around-the-way chick, trying to keep up with the Joneses. There's a revolving door on her bedroom as she tries to find the love she always felt was missing. Her promiscuity leaves her pregnant from a one-night stand and Reese is faced with the task of breaking an age-old cycle, passed down from mother to daughter in her family, and standing on her own. Rhonda is twenty-something with three kids, by three men, and riding the system all the way to the bank. To her, work is a dirty word; between the multiple checks she gets from the government, and the games she plays with men, she's living the life of a ghetto superstar. The game soon turns ugly when one of her "sponsors" snaps and decides to get some payback.

Harlem has never seen four friends as scandalous as these. The neighborhood will never be the same again.]]> 368 K'wan 0312360088 Skip 2 thriller 4.40 2006 Hood Rat (Hood Rat #1)
author: K'wan
name: Skip
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves: thriller
review:
Clearly I am not the right audience for this book, which is set in the hood. Too much sex, drugs, violence, and rap, with most characters having loose to no morals at all. I would have given one star, but for a couple of meaningful relationships, where people truly cared for lost souls.
]]> <![CDATA[East of Hounslow (Jay Qasim, #1)]]> 53440662 Meet Jay.
Small-time dealer.
Accidental jihadist.
The one man who can save us all?

Javid � call him Jay � is a dope dealer living in West London. He goes to mosque on Friday, and he’s just bought his pride and joy � a BMW. He lives with his mum, and life seems sweet.

But his world is about to turn upside-down. Because MI5 have been watching him, and they think he’s just the man they need for a delicate mission.

One thing’s for sure: now he’s a long way East of Hounslow, Jay’s life will never be the same again.]]> 384 Khurrum Rahman 000830873X Skip 2 thriller
I was pleasantly surprised to finally get an interesting twist about 75% of the way through.]]> 3.96 2017 East of Hounslow (Jay Qasim, #1)
author: Khurrum Rahman
name: Skip
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/30
date added: 2024/11/30
shelves: thriller
review:
I found this book to be mind-numbingly slow, with too much stereotyping. The main character was really annoying (inconsistent) too.

I was pleasantly surprised to finally get an interesting twist about 75% of the way through.
]]> <![CDATA[Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta)]]> 205008300
And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message�

Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once loved. While teaching in Rome during the early days of her career, Scarpetta had an intense love affair with Sal Giordano that led to a lifelong friendship.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil . . .]]> 496 Patricia Cornwell 1538770431 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress
Once again, Kay Cornwell has slipped back into too much detail about her characters and their relationships, past and current, detracting from solving the mysteries. Catching the child's killer is the more believable story, with too much high tech and military secrecy surrounding the death of Sal, and what he was doing just prior to his kidnapping and death. Oh, and then there is the never ending specter of Carrie Gretchen.]]> 3.68 2024 Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta)
author: Patricia Cornwell
name: Skip
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/24
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Kay, Marino, Benton and the gang are dragged into solving the murder of Kay's former lover, current friend, and Nobel Laureate Sal Giordano, who is dropped into an abandoned amusement park just before a raging storm. Meanwhile, Kay and Marino are investigating the shooting death of the young daughter of a nasty and vindictive billionaire, who supposedly killed herself with her father's gun. There are signs of abuse, and doubts about an accidental death.

Once again, Kay Cornwell has slipped back into too much detail about her characters and their relationships, past and current, detracting from solving the mysteries. Catching the child's killer is the more believable story, with too much high tech and military secrecy surrounding the death of Sal, and what he was doing just prior to his kidnapping and death. Oh, and then there is the never ending specter of Carrie Gretchen.
]]> <![CDATA[Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan, #2)]]> 205098784 A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Three years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief medical scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.]]> 384 Robert Dugoni 1662517998 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress Note: Very similar to the real life story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos.) Jenna is now accused of murdering Sirus Kohl, who was threatening to testify and provide documentation that could have led to her facing prison. Jenna's unexplained behavior on the fateful evening is highly suspicious. Another solid legal thriller by Dugoni. ]]> 4.07 2024 Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Keera Duggan, #2)
author: Robert Dugoni
name: Skip
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Seattle attorney Keera Duggan is back. She is called in from a staycation by her father to consider defending a childhood frenemy, Jenna Bernstein, whom she dislikes. Jenna, CEO of Ponce de Leon Restorative Technology, was exonerated from murdering the company's chief science officer, Erik Wei, by Patsy Duggan (Keera's father) who suggested she was just a pawn used by a master manipulator. Patsy left open the possibility that Jenna's lover and primary funding source, Sirus Kohl, had kept her in the dark about business prospects, to enable her to raise capital. (Note: Very similar to the real life story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos.) Jenna is now accused of murdering Sirus Kohl, who was threatening to testify and provide documentation that could have led to her facing prison. Jenna's unexplained behavior on the fateful evening is highly suspicious. Another solid legal thriller by Dugoni.
]]> Reservations (Lola Wicks, #4) 30268357
But as the violence gets worse and Lola digs deeper, she can't escape the feeling that her husband's family is somehow involved—a suspicion that jeopardizes not only her marriage, but also her life.

Praised by the New York Times as "a gutsy series," the Lola Wicks mysteries captivate readers with compelling characters, gritty tension, and page-turning action that builds to a thrilling finish.]]> 312 Gwen Florio 0738750425 Skip 3 thriller 3.89 Reservations (Lola Wicks, #4)
author: Gwen Florio
name: Skip
average rating: 3.89
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2018/02/14
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves: thriller
review:
How can Lola Wicks get herself and family in deadly peril so easily in every book? Boggles the mind. She, Charlie and Margaret go to Arizona, ostensibly on their honeymoon, to visit Charlie's estranged brother, who met a Navajo women at Dartmouth and never returned to Montana's Blackfeet tribe. The bombing of a coal company's billboard, accidentally killing an Elder, followed by the detonation of a company trailer truck, has everyone searching for the culprit, including Gar (Charlie's brother) and Naomi (Charlie's sister-in-law), a tribal attorney. The highlight of the book, besides the new desert setting, are the chapters narrated by the perp, but the perp's identity is cloaked until the denouement when Lola arrives to save the day. [spoilers removed].
]]> <![CDATA[Under the Shadows (Lola Wicks, #5)]]> 35260142 Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Grief has nearly consumed journalist Lola Wicks, but her latest assignment leads to a darkness she may never escape.

Lola Wicks is in bad shape--a family tragedy has nearly broken her in a way that her years reporting from war zones never did. Her friends, alarmed by signs that Lola is in the grip of a destructive addiction, hope that a freelance assignment will get her back on her feet. Only the threat of having her child removed persuades Lola to head to Salt Lake City to work on a puff piece about overseas adoptions.

But the assignment takes a dark turn when the teenager at the center of her story lands in jail facing a murder charge. Setting out to prove the youth's innocence takes Lola to her own dark place, and she's not sure if she'll ever be able to find her way back.

Praise for the Lola Wicks Mysteries:

"Compelling, realistically flawed characters and a timely story line...make this one of Florio's hardest-hitting mysteries yet."--Library Journal (starred review)

"A gutsy series."--The New York Times

"Florio captures the culture and poverty on reservations still suffering from greed and mismanagement in a ripped-from-the-headlines story with a shocking ending."--Kirkus Reviews]]> 360 Gwen Florio 0738750530 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.04 Under the Shadows (Lola Wicks, #5)
author: Gwen Florio
name: Skip
average rating: 4.04
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/12
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
The fifth book in the Lola Wicks series. She is a reporter, but unable to function due to the violent death (in the fourth book) of her husband. In fact, her daughter is being cared for by the reservation "aunties." Following an intervention, Lola reluctantly agrees to travel to Salt Lake City to write a piece for the Mormon newspaper about the popular adoption practices of the Mormons. However, she arrive to find herself in the middle of a murder mystery with an adopted Vietnamese teenager Frank (formerly Trang) arrested for killing his next door neighbor's and fiancee's mother. Lots of drama, eventually sending Lola back to Vietnam, where she makes several interesting discoveries despite being hassled by the local police for suspected drug possession. Intrigue and deep family secrets abound.
]]> <![CDATA[The Capitalist (Louis Morgon #5)]]> 25663769
St. John Larrimer was a well known Wall Street investment banker who had earned returns for his wealthy clients that exceeded even their fondest hopes. But it turns out that the returns existed only in St. John's imagination. By the time his staff and associates were detained and questioned, St. John had disappeared.

Louis Morgon, a long retired CIA operative now living in France, had a little money invested with a money manager who was also taken in by Larrimer. Louis thinks that he can figure out a way to bring Larrimer to account. Of course, some of Larrimer's victims were themselves villains, for instance the Russian mobsters whose wealth constituted the main holdings of the Swiss Eisener Bank.

So Louis, with a motley band of helpers and the Russian mob on his tail, sets out to find Larrimer and bring him to justice.

Compelling, arresting, and complex, The Capitalist is a thriller that will appeal to fans of John le Carre and Graham Greene.]]> 304 Peter Steiner 1250065038 Skip 2 thriller 3.02 2016 The Capitalist (Louis Morgon #5)
author: Peter Steiner
name: Skip
average rating: 3.02
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/11
date added: 2024/11/19
shelves: thriller
review:
Having read the first four books in the Louis Morgon series, I thought I should read the final one. It was very weak: essentially, it is a story about a Bernie Madoff character, who rips off his friends and justifies his greed based on the capitalist system. Lots of innocent people are harmed, and the brother of Louis's girlfriend commits suicide for letting the crook manage the family wealth. Louis decides to investigate, but is competing with a Russian who invested his bank's money there, to find the crook: Louis wants to turn him in to the U.S. government while the Russian wants to torture and kill him. Nowhere near enough Louis nor the idyllic French countryside in this one.
]]> <![CDATA[The Resistance (Louis Morgon #4)]]> 13167145 --Publishers Weekly (starred) on L'Assassin


Peter Steiner has thoroughly impressed sophisticated thriller mavens everywhere with his critically acclaimed novels featuring ex-CIA operative Louis Morgon. Now, in what is indubitably Steiner's finest book to date, Louis attempts to solve a mystery with roots going back as far as World War II.

When Louis purchases a rundown house in Saint-Leon-sur-DĂŞme, he quickly goes to work fixing it up. However, during the renovations, he discovers evidence of a long forgotten crime hidden beneath the floorboards. Unable to leave a good mystery unsolved, he enlists the help of his friend Renard, a French cop, and sets out to discover exactly what happened in this small French village during the Nazi occupation.

As Louis and Renard search for the answer to a decades-old question, they encounter an unforgettable cast of characters, including Simon, a Jew from Berlin who leads a French resistance cell, a Nazi colonel who is not at all what he seems, and Marie Piano, whose bravery is unmatched. Soon, Louis is pulled into the secrets and lies of the past as he begins to call into question the very nature of guilt and innocence in times of war.

Compelling, arresting, and complex, The Resistance is a thriller that will appeal to fans of John le Carre and Graham Greene.]]> 320 Peter Steiner 1250003717 Skip 3 thriller 3.88 2012 The Resistance (Louis Morgon #4)
author: Peter Steiner
name: Skip
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2016/03/04
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: thriller
review:
Francophile and ex-U.S. spy Louis Morgon is mysteriously absent through much of this historical thriller, which focuses on events in Nazi-occupied France in World War II. Much of the novel is centered on the father of Morgon's police ally, Renard, who was charged with keeping peace in the town prior to his son's succession as police chief. The novel raises moral questions about war crimes, patriotism and survival when an occupied army controls your country. As in his other novels, good character development too. 3.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[In Too Deep (Jack Reacher, #29)]]> 204432624 The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew ChildReacher wakes up, alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a bed in a makeshift hospital room. His few possessions are gone. He has no memory of getting there. The last thing he can recall is the car he had hitched a ride in getting run off the road. The driver was killed. The people who staged the attack assume Reacher was the driver's accomplice and patch up his wounds as they plan to make him talk. A plan that will backfire spectacularly . . .]]> 324 Lee Child 0593725808 Skip 3 3.65 2024 In Too Deep (Jack Reacher, #29)
author: Lee Child
name: Skip
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/03
date added: 2024/11/13
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress, e-books
review:
2.5 stars, rounded up. Jack Reacher awakens, chained to a stainless steel table, bruised and battered, with a broken wrist, supposedly rescued from a car accident, with no memory of the accident. Seriously, Jack Reacher with a broken bone? It simply took too long to figure out what was going on, and the agenda of the bad guys, and more importantly, why the FBI was after these criminals. Catching a bunch of home robbers should not involve the FBI. Jack eventually partners with a cop looking for vengeance on one of the robbers, who shot her father (retired cop, turned security guard) to death in a robbery. The killer bears a resemblance to Jack, leading to an interesting meeting for the two. Unfortunately, the real crime is too unbelievable and Jack's wit and charm is too often absent, at least for me.
]]> The God of the Woods 199700434 When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.

Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet, The God of the Woods is a story of inheritance and second chances, the tensions between a family and a community, and a history that will not let any of them go.]]> 478 Liz Moore 0593418913 Skip 3 thriller 4.09 2024 The God of the Woods
author: Liz Moore
name: Skip
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/08
date added: 2024/11/11
shelves: thriller
review:
Set at a camp in upstate NY in the mid-70s, a young female camper disappears in the middle of the night. She is the daughter of the camp owners, who are quite wealthy, and everyone is afraid to tell her parents, mostly because her older brother also disappeared forever when he was just eight years old. Suspicion falls on the son of the parents' banker, who is thought to be the heir apparent. The daughter is very odd, but is very friendly with the female camp director. The primary investigator from the NY State Police is the strongest character in the novel, and has to deal with many family secrets, and pressure from her own Polish family to live at home when her job is hours away. I thought there were a too few POVs, but thought the timeline switching was well done. A few surprises at the end, but a bit too long getting to them.
]]> The Forest of Lost Souls 199396945
Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is a young woman with an almost preternatural affinity for nature, especially for the wolves that also call the forested mountains home. Formed by hard experience, by love and loss, and by the prophecies of a fortune teller, Vida just wants peace. If only nearby Kettleton County didn’t cast such a dark shadow.

It’s where Jose Nochelobo, the love of Vida’s life and a cherished local hero, died in a tragic accident. That’s the official story, but Vida has reasons to doubt it. The truth can’t be contained for long. Nor can the hungry men of power in Kettleton who want something too: that Vida, like Jose, disappear forever. One by one they come for her, prepared to do anything to see their plans through to their evil end. Vida is no less prepared for them.

Vida, the forest, and its formidable wonders are waiting. She will not rest until goodness and order have been restored.]]> 396 Dean Koontz 1662500505 Skip 4 thriller 4.32 2024 The Forest of Lost Souls
author: Dean Koontz
name: Skip
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/11/03
shelves: thriller
review:
Protagonist Vida is raised by her uncle Ogden in an isolated area in the woods, taught to appreciate the land and its many creatures. She pans for gems, and has a sixth sense about the natural world. An sociopathic billionaire has destructive plans for Kettleton County and will stop at nothing to succeed. Vida's fiancee tries to rally public support against his development project, and is killed in what is deemed an accident by the police department. Vida knows better, as they come after her; however, she is a force with which to be reckoned herself, and is able to find a few allies in her battle, including the wisdom of a female mystic. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
]]> <![CDATA[Death by Dumpling (Noodle Shop Mystery, #1)]]> 34964916
The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband.

Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead―after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy―to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out―it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order. . . before her own number is up.]]> 328 Vivien Chien 125012915X Skip 3 thriller Noodle Shop Mystery series, and I had hopes that it might be as much fun as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, especially with this zinger: "Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for." Lana Lee is working in the family's Chinese restaurant in an Asian mall, when the mall's owner dies after eating shrimp dumplings delivered by Lana. His allergy is well-known, but Lana and Peter (the cook) are the most likely suspects. Lana decides to investigate to clear their names, putting herself in danger and annoying the assigned detective. Unfortunately, this was nowhere near as entertaining as I had hoped.]]> 3.62 2018 Death by Dumpling (Noodle Shop Mystery, #1)
author: Vivien Chien
name: Skip
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/25
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: thriller
review:
This is the first of ten books in the Noodle Shop Mystery series, and I had hopes that it might be as much fun as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, especially with this zinger: "Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for." Lana Lee is working in the family's Chinese restaurant in an Asian mall, when the mall's owner dies after eating shrimp dumplings delivered by Lana. His allergy is well-known, but Lana and Peter (the cook) are the most likely suspects. Lana decides to investigate to clear their names, putting herself in danger and annoying the assigned detective. Unfortunately, this was nowhere near as entertaining as I had hoped.
]]> <![CDATA[In the Blood (Terminal List, #5)]]> 58438630 The #1 New York Times bestselling Terminal List series continues as James Reece embarks on a global journey of vengeance.

A woman boards a plane in the African country of Burkina Faso having just completed a targeted assassination for the state of Israel. Two minutes later, her plane is blown out of the sky.

Over 6,000 miles away, former Navy SEAL James Reece watches the names and pictures of the victims on cable news. One face triggers a distant memory of a Mossad operative attached to the CIA years earlier in Iraq—a woman with ties to the intelligence services of two nations…a woman Reece thought he would never see again.

Reece enlists friends new and old across the globe to track down her killer, unaware that he may be walking into a deadly trap.]]> 459 Jack Carr 1982181656 Skip 4 thriller 4.43 2022 In the Blood (Terminal List, #5)
author: Jack Carr
name: Skip
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/30
date added: 2024/10/19
shelves: thriller
review:
James Reece is once again back on the hunt for the assassin who killed his spotter, Freddie Stain, who has left a trail to follow, after shooting down down a commercial flight killing a Mossad friend of James. After some assistance from the U.S. President (and Alice), he jets off to Israel, where he pays his respects to the family and is attacked by a team of Syrians. He follows a thread back through an Israeli arms dealer in Italy, who assisted the assassin not knowing how the missiles were going to be used. Once again, an Arab hit team is dispatched to kill Reece, this time led by a retired Russian. Finally, there is an excellent showdown between Reece and the assassin, playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. Unexpected ending.
]]> <![CDATA[Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #1)]]> 12804911 “Delicious and addictive.”—Salon.com

“Reads . . .Ěýas if David Lynch directed a Raymond Chandler novel.”—CNN
Ěý

“What would you get if that punkish dragon girl Lisbeth Salander met up with Jim Sallis’s Lew Griffin walking the back streets of New Orleans? Or Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone transformed herself into a tattooed magnolia driving a 4x4? Clare DeWitt, that’s what you’d get . . . DeWitt’s mesmerizing character and memorable voice take your breath away.”�New Orleans Times-Picayune

This knock-out start to a bracingly original new series features Claire DeWitt, the world’s greatest PI—at least, that's what she calls herself. A one-time teen detective in Brooklyn, she is a follower of the esoteric French detective Jacques Silette, whose mysterious handbook ¶ŮĂ©łŮ±đł¦łŮľ±´Ç˛Ô inspired Claire’s unusual practices. Claire also has deep roots in New Orleans, where she was mentored by Silette’s student the brilliant Constance Darling—until Darling was murdered. When a respected DA goes missing she returns to the hurricane-ravaged city to find out why.

“The hard-living, wisecracking titular detective bounces around post-Katrina New Orleans trying to track down a missing prosecutor in this auspicious debut of a new mystery series—and the Big Easy is every bit her equal in sass and flavor.”�Elle

“Reminds me why I fell in love with the genre.”—Laura Lippman
Ěý
"IĚýlove this book!" -- Sue Grafton


Ěý]]> 273 Sara Gran 0547747616 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 3.81 2011 Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead (Claire DeWitt Mysteries, #1)
author: Sara Gran
name: Skip
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2022/06/15
date added: 2024/10/15
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Claire de Witt is a private detective who returns to New Orleans, where she learned the business from Constance Darling, herself a disciple of the esoteric French detective Jacques Silette. Claire is hired to investigate the disappearance of a local prosecutor, Vic Willing, who has not been seen since the Hurricane Katrina. Claire is a one-of-a-kind detective, quirky, employing a hodge-podge of skills, working with all sorts of people and with a unique ability to relate to all. She reminds me a little of John Sandford's Virgil Flowers, but she is more ghetto and likes to drink and take drugs. As she gets to know the vic [pun intended], she finds out some disturbing things, eventually learning the heroism he displayed prior to disappearing. Sara Gran does an excellent job of describing the physical, mental and societal damage wreaked on the city by Katrina.
]]> The Return of Ellie Black 199798460
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.]]> 299 Emiko Jean 1668023938 Skip 4 thriller 3.97 2024 The Return of Ellie Black
author: Emiko Jean
name: Skip
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: thriller
review:
Elizabeth (Ellie) Black disappeared from a high school rage party at a local motel, only to reappear two years later, wandering out of the forest in the Olympic National Park. She is withdrawn, and unwilling to help Detective Chelsey Calhoun find her abductor, even as Chelsey discovers the identity of a second kidnapped woman based on blood found on Ellie's clothes. Chelsey is suffering from her own family trauma: the cancer death of her police chief father and her sister's murder by her boyfriend, who then committed suicide by driving his car off a cliff. The story goes back and forth between Ellie's time in captivity with other victims as their wills are destroyed by evil captors, and her time after release in therapy, with her family. The ending was excellent, and a real twisty treat.
]]> The Undesired 29939247
Aldis hates her job working in a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland. The boys are difficult, the owners are unpleasant, and there are mysterious noises at night. And then two of the boys go astray...

Decades later, single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the center. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister?

Yrsa Sigurdardottir is a huge European bestseller both with her crime and horror novels. You might want to sleep with the light on after reading The Undesired...]]> 368 Yrsa Sigurdardottir 1250107407 Skip 3 foreign-translated, thriller Death at the Sanitorium earlier this month, I found this book similar, where abuse changes lives and leads to abherent behavior. Like the other book, this is also told in separate timelines. In the current one, a government employee Odinn, is asked to complete the casework of a colleague who died suddenly, investigating claims of mistreatment of boys sent to a state correctional facility in the 1970s, working on a remote farm. Odinn himself is dealing with the recent death of his estranged wife and responsibility for their daughter and her trauma. The second timeline was from the farm in the 1970s, where we hear what occurred from the POV of Aldis, an employee at the facility Odinn is investigating. For me, the story took too long to get going, which was remedied in the end, with an unusual merging of the storylines.]]> 3.73 2012 The Undesired
author: Yrsa Sigurdardottir
name: Skip
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller
review:
Having read Ragnar Jonasson's Death at the Sanitorium earlier this month, I found this book similar, where abuse changes lives and leads to abherent behavior. Like the other book, this is also told in separate timelines. In the current one, a government employee Odinn, is asked to complete the casework of a colleague who died suddenly, investigating claims of mistreatment of boys sent to a state correctional facility in the 1970s, working on a remote farm. Odinn himself is dealing with the recent death of his estranged wife and responsibility for their daughter and her trauma. The second timeline was from the farm in the 1970s, where we hear what occurred from the POV of Aldis, an employee at the facility Odinn is investigating. For me, the story took too long to get going, which was remedied in the end, with an unusual merging of the storylines.
]]> <![CDATA[The Fury of Beijing (Ava Lee #16)]]> 124925281
Still reeling from the brutal murder of her close associates, Lau Lau and Chen, Ava Lee embarks on a quest for revenge that takes her from Toronto to Los Angeles to Beijing. Along the way, Ava is aided by some familiar faces and old comrades-in-arms, including Sonny Kwon, Jimmy Li, Lop, and Xu, the mountain master of Shanghai.

The search leads first to Ava’s old opponent, Mo, the chairman of the China Movie Syndicate, and then to a shadowy figure at the very top of the Chinese Security Service—the man who gave the order to kill her friends. Events reach a deadly climax in front of the Tianqiao Theatre in Beijing, but exacting her revenge is only half the battle—getting out of China alive is another matter entirely…]]> 360 Ian Hamilton 1487012365 Skip 3 thriller 3.96 2024 The Fury of Beijing (Ava Lee #16)
author: Ian Hamilton
name: Skip
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/13
date added: 2024/10/08
shelves: thriller
review:
Sadly, the end of an excellent series. Ava Lee is out to avenge the killing of her close friends (Lau Lau and Chen) by Chinese authorities because they directed and produced (respectively) a movie critical of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Ava plans out retribution for the individuals who ordered the murders, calling in favors with her contacts in the Triads. First, she goes after her nemesis Mo from the movie world, but then goes after the man pulling the strings: an elusive leader of the Security Service, once again putting herself at grave risk so she can return to a peaceful life with her lover.
]]> Code Red (Mitch Rapp 22) 101160555 352 Kyle Mills 1982164999 Skip 4 thriller 4.22 2023 Code Red (Mitch Rapp 22)
author: Kyle Mills
name: Skip
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/18
date added: 2024/10/06
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> Death at the Sanatorium 203578851 Fresh off his career-changing standalone co-written with Icelandic PM, Reykjavík, #1 Icelandic bestseller Jonasson presents a riveting new thriller spinoff from The Darkness, soon to be a TV series. 1983 At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse, Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir and her boss, Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the nurses, but subsequently released. Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed. 2012 Almost thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department—the job which detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is about to retire from. He is also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before.]]> 320 Ragnar Jónasson 1250770769 Skip 3 thriller
In 2012, a former police intern Helgi Reykdal is working on his criminology thesis about these deaths, which he thinks are unsolved. The research for his dissertation includes contacting the people who worked together, and Helgi unravels threads not pursued by Sverrir, who is now married to the nurse who discovered the deaths. Helgi has a tumultuous relationship at home and is weighing re-joining the Reykjavik police department as Hulga's successor. His hard work pays off as he solves the mystery.]]> 3.56 2019 Death at the Sanatorium
author: Ragnar JĂłnasson
name: Skip
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/01
date added: 2024/10/03
shelves: thriller
review:
In 1983, an elderly nurse was murdered, after have two fingers cut off, at a former sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The local police investigator (Sverrir) arrests the facility's caretaker because of his access and on flimsy evidence, despite the misgivings of detective Hulda HermannsdĂłttir. A few days later, the senior physician dies from a fall at the sanitorium, and Sverrir deems the death a suicide related to the nurse's murder, and closes the case.

In 2012, a former police intern Helgi Reykdal is working on his criminology thesis about these deaths, which he thinks are unsolved. The research for his dissertation includes contacting the people who worked together, and Helgi unravels threads not pursued by Sverrir, who is now married to the nurse who discovered the deaths. Helgi has a tumultuous relationship at home and is weighing re-joining the Reykjavik police department as Hulga's successor. His hard work pays off as he solves the mystery.
]]> <![CDATA[The Unlucky Woman (Adam Lapid Mysteries #5.5)]]> 43285806 She wants to know the truth. She may live to regret it.

Hilda Lipkind is sure her husband is cheating on her. So she hires Adam Lapid to find out with whom.

Adam expects this to be a short, ordinary investigation.

Both he and his client are in for a surprise.

For what starts as a routine case soon turns out to be anything but.

To succeed in his mission, Adam must dig deep into both past and present, and cut through layers of lies and secrets.

And in the end, he must uncover an unexpected truth that may do his client more harm than good.

You will love The Unlucky Woman because it's a fast-paced mystery story with twists and turns.

Get it now!

]]> 70 Jonathan Dunsky 1731028989 Skip 3 4.17 2018 The Unlucky Woman (Adam Lapid Mysteries #5.5)
author: Jonathan Dunsky
name: Skip
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: thriller, short-story-or-stories
review:
Despite his misgivings, Adam Lapid agrees to investigate a husband is cheating on his pregnant wife, and discovers a deep, dark secret harking back to an earlier time. Too short and depressing for me.
]]> <![CDATA[Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp, #23)]]> 207595657 Mitch Rapp faces an Iranian foe bent on destabilizing the Middle East in this latest novel from Vince Flynn’s #1 New York Times bestselling series, now written by Don Bentley.

April 2011: On a remote mountaintop overlooking the remains of the Iranian nuclear weapons program, Azad Ashani witnesses the successful demonstration of a new weapons system meant to upend the American-led war in Afghanistan. Ashani, director of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security and Irene Kennedy’s former back channel to the Iranian government, recognizes the demonstration’s true significance, and the nation-ending conflict it will provoke. Alone, Ashani stands no chance of preventing this rush to madness.

But with the help of one man, he just might.

In Washington, DC, CIA director Irene Kennedy briefs the president that the operational window to kill or capture Osama bin Laden at his recently discovered compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan is rapidly closing. But before he’ll authorize a commando raid on Pakistani soil, the president demands irrefutable proof of bin Laden’s presence.

Proof he trusts just one man to provide.]]> 459 Don Bentley 1668045869 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 4.37 2024 Capture or Kill (Mitch Rapp, #23)
author: Don Bentley
name: Skip
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/30
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
I am not sure why Kyle Mills is no longer writing the Mitch Rapp series, started by Vince Flynn. Going back in time to the era of Osama bin Laden and having Mitch work several angles to help determine whether or not he was truly in the compound prior to the Seal Team 6 raid was not to my liking. Being on the leading edge of anti-terrorist activity is where Mitch belongs, not stuck in the past. Over time, I think Mitch's language has deteriorated markedly along with his tolerance for bureaucratic bullshit, which I found misplaced in the earlier timeframe. I really hope Book #24 is better than this one.
]]> <![CDATA[Soft Targets (Jonathan Grave, #5,5)]]> 18871580
FBI Special Agent Irene Rivers is horrified to learn that because of mistakes made by agents under her command, a murderer and child molester will walk free. When Irene's own daughters become the monster's next targets, she reaches out in desperation to an elite Special Forces operator. His name is Jonathan Grave. For Grave, results matter more than procedures. Together, they discover a new kind of justice--and a new breed of evil. . .
40,000 Words]]> 111 John Gilstrap 0786032936 Skip 3 e-books, thriller
Merged review:

While I like the Jonathan Grave series, this in-between novella did very little for me. It provides the back story for his meeting FBI Director Irene Rivers, whose daughters are kidnapped after some of her agents allow a murderer and child rapist to go free. Frantic, she reaches out to a priest friend, who connects her with Digger et al. I found the early version of Irene to have a serious problem of passive-aggressive. 2.5 stars, rounded up.]]> 4.29 2013 Soft Targets (Jonathan Grave, #5,5)
author: John Gilstrap
name: Skip
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/30
date added: 2024/09/30
shelves: e-books, thriller
review:
While I like the Jonathan Grave series, this in-between novella did very little for me. It provides the back story for his meeting FBI Director Irene Rivers, whose daughters are kidnapped after some of her agents allow a murderer and child rapist to go free. Frantic, she reaches out to a priest friend, who connects her with Digger et al. I found the early version of Irene to have a serious problem of passive-aggressive. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Merged review:

While I like the Jonathan Grave series, this in-between novella did very little for me. It provides the back story for his meeting FBI Director Irene Rivers, whose daughters are kidnapped after some of her agents allow a murderer and child rapist to go free. Frantic, she reaches out to a priest friend, who connects her with Digger et al. I found the early version of Irene to have a serious problem of passive-aggressive. 2.5 stars, rounded up.
]]> End Game (Jonathan Grave, #6) 21064293 Praise for John Gilstrap

"Gilstrap pushes every thriller button."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A great hero, a really exciting series."--Joseph Finder

"When you pick up a Gilstrap novel, one thing is always true--you are going to be entertained at a high rate of speed."--Suspense Magazine

]]> 448 John Gilstrap 0786030224 Skip 4 thriller, e-books
Note: The e-book version I read was terrible because there was no extra space when the storyline changed. That's really lame.

Merged review:

Jonathan Grave and Boxers are recruited by a young FBI agent to find a 14-year son of spies and his female bodyguard, after the parents are attacked in front of him. He is given a code, but not told its significance, and becomes a pawn in a dangerous game, where the two of them are being sought by dofferent factions with different agendas. Grace and Boxers track them down, with Venice's able help, and end up in the slums of Detroit, where they ally themselves with a local gang leader. Still liking this series.

Note: The e-book version I read was terrible because there was no extra space when the storyline changed. That's really lame.]]> 4.36 2014 End Game (Jonathan Grave, #6)
author: John Gilstrap
name: Skip
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/07/05
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: thriller, e-books
review:
Jonathan Grave and Boxers are recruited by a young FBI agent to find a 14-year son of spies and his female bodyguard, after the parents are attacked in front of him. He is given a code, but not told its significance, and becomes a pawn in a dangerous game, where the two of them are being sought by dofferent factions with different agendas. Grace and Boxers track them down, with Venice's able help, and end up in the slums of Detroit, where they ally themselves with a local gang leader. Still liking this series.

Note: The e-book version I read was terrible because there was no extra space when the storyline changed. That's really lame.

Merged review:

Jonathan Grave and Boxers are recruited by a young FBI agent to find a 14-year son of spies and his female bodyguard, after the parents are attacked in front of him. He is given a code, but not told its significance, and becomes a pawn in a dangerous game, where the two of them are being sought by dofferent factions with different agendas. Grace and Boxers track them down, with Venice's able help, and end up in the slums of Detroit, where they ally themselves with a local gang leader. Still liking this series.

Note: The e-book version I read was terrible because there was no extra space when the storyline changed. That's really lame.
]]> <![CDATA[Left For Dead (Ali Reynolds, #7)]]> 12201628 304 J.A. Jance 1451628587 Skip 3 thriller 3.77 2012 Left For Dead (Ali Reynolds, #7)
author: J.A. Jance
name: Skip
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/02/18
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: thriller
review:
Pretty good thriller, although initially I was annoyed at having to turn back because there were too many names, subplots. Ali Reynolds and Sistem Anselm have their dinner reunion precluded by the near death of a call girl, who is abandoned in the borderlands. Jose Reyes, a policy academy buddy of Ali's (not the ex-Mets shortstop) is almost killed in the line of duty and framed as a drug dealer. Then a popular postman is killed, and also framed as a drug dealer. There seem to be no ties between the two, except that the postman delivers the cop's mail; however, leveraging her technology boyfriend's company, Ali finds the link and has to rescue some innocents caught up in the revenge plot while the other crime is solved via the persistence of the Border Patrolmen who decided to ignore his boss's admonitions to leave it alone.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sherlock Society (The Sherlock Society, #1)]]> 207296819 In the tradition of Nancy Drew, four kids and one grandfather in Miami tackle a decades-old mystery in this first book in the action-packed and funny Sherlock Society middle grade series from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti! Siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock take their last name as inspiration when choosing a summer job. After all, starting a detective agency has to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or cleaning out the attic (boring and sweaty). Their friends Lina, an avid bookworm, and Yadi, an aspiring cinematographer, join the enterprise, and Alex and Zoe’s retired reporter grandfather offers up his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible and storage unit full of cold cases. The group’s first target is the long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown Miami. Their investigation into the local doings of famed gangster Al Capone leads them to a remote island in the middle of the Everglades where they find alarming evidence hinting at corporate corruption. Together with Grandpa’s know-how and the kids� intelligence—plus some really slick gadgets—can the Sherlock Society root out the conspiracy?]]> 339 James Ponti 1665932538 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 4.20 The Sherlock Society (The Sherlock Society, #1)
author: James Ponti
name: Skip
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/19
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Very similar in concept to his City Spies series, Ponti has once again forged a group of kids together to thwart crime, with minimal adult supervision. In this case, a brother and sister, pair up with two friends of the brother, first to solve a locked room mystery in the school library, and second, on a real mystery. Instead of the usual summer jobs, they decide they are going to start a detective agency, engaging the grandfather, who spent most of his career as a journalist. Off they go to find the million dollars hidden by Al Capone, honing in on an island in the Everglades, after an initial failure. Instead, they find dead wildlife and illegal dumping, starting a real crusade to bring the perpetrators to justice. Some interesting family dynamics and friendships ensue, in the context of bumbling efforts by law enforcement.
]]> The Dead Cat Tail Assassins 127305606 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats.

Nor do they have tails.

But they are most assuredly dead.

Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins.

Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. Her guild is strong, her blades are sharp, and her rules are simple. Those sworn to the Matron of Assassins―resurrected, deadly, wiped of their memories―have only three unbreakable vows.

First, the contract must be just. That’s above Eveen’s pay grade.

Second, even the most powerful assassin may only kill the contracted. Eveen’s a professional. She’s never missed her mark.

The third and the simplest: once you accept a job, you must carry it out. And if you stray? A ď¬nal death would be a mercy. When the Festival of the Clockwork King turns the city upside down, Eveen’s newest mission brings her face-to-face with a past she isn’t supposed to remember and a vow she can’t forget.]]> 213 P. DjèlĂ­ Clark 1250767040 Skip 4 thriller, fantasy The Haunting of Tram Car 0015. I also like his usual protagonists, who are strong women, often in traditionally male-dominant societies.

Eveen, the Eviscerator, is a skilled, discreet, professional assassin, and an upstanding member of her local guild in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. She accepts an assignment, tracking down her prey, only to find herself unable to fulfill her contract, putting her own life at risk. Instead, she saves the life of her target, fighting through a small army, and then seeks to find out why the assassination was directed to her first from her guild leader, and eventually, the anonymous client. Finally, she has to demand arbitration with a deity, risking all.

4.5 stars.]]> 3.84 2024 The Dead Cat Tail Assassins
author: P. Djèlí Clark
name: Skip
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/18
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: thriller, fantasy
review:
Author Djeli Clark does not waste words, packing much into his short fiction and is especially adept at world building and character development. I have been a fan since reading his terrific The Haunting of Tram Car 0015. I also like his usual protagonists, who are strong women, often in traditionally male-dominant societies.

Eveen, the Eviscerator, is a skilled, discreet, professional assassin, and an upstanding member of her local guild in the ancient city of Tal Abisi. She accepts an assignment, tracking down her prey, only to find herself unable to fulfill her contract, putting her own life at risk. Instead, she saves the life of her target, fighting through a small army, and then seeks to find out why the assassination was directed to her first from her guild leader, and eventually, the anonymous client. Finally, she has to demand arbitration with a deity, risking all.

4.5 stars.
]]> <![CDATA[Murder Crossed Her Mind (Pentecost and Parker, #4)]]> 78298448 The latest action-packed installment in the Nero Award-winning Pentecost & Parker Mystery series follows Lillian and Will tracking the suspicious disappearance of a woman who might have known too much. From the author of Fortune Favors the Dead and Murder Under Her Skin.

Vera Bodine, an elderly shut-in with an exceptional memory, has gone missing and famed detective Lillian Pentecost and her crackerjack assistant Willowjean "Will" Parker have been hired to track her down. But the New York City of 1947 can be a dangerous place, and there's no shortage of people who might like to get ahold of what's in Bodine's head.

Does her disappearance have to do with the high-profile law firm whose secrets she still keeps; the violent murder of a young woman, with which Bodine had lately become obsessed; or is it the work she did with the FBI hunting Nazi spies intent on wartime sabotage? Any and all are on the suspect list, including their client, Forest Whitsun, hotshot defense attorney and no friend to Pentecost and Parker.

The clock is ticking to get Bodine back alive, but circumstances conspire to pull both investigators away from the case. Will is hot on the trail of a stickup team who are using her name--and maybe her gun--for their own ends. While Lillian again finds herself up against murder-obsessed millionaire Jessup Quincannon, who has discovered a secret from her past--something he plans to use to either rein the great detective in . . . or destroy her.

To solve this mystery, and defeat their own personal demons, the pair will have to go nose-to-nose with murderous gangsters, make deals with conniving federal agents, confront Nazi spies, and bend their own ethical rules to the point of breaking. Before time runs out for everyone.]]> 384 Stephen Spotswood 0385549288 Skip 4 thriller 4.14 2023 Murder Crossed Her Mind (Pentecost and Parker, #4)
author: Stephen Spotswood
name: Skip
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/04
date added: 2024/09/19
shelves: thriller
review:
Will Parker, trusted assistant to the brilliant PI Lillian Pentecost, gets mugged, losing her gun, and it too embarrassed to tell Lillian, determined to chase down the criminals on her own. A new case arrives when a leading defense attorney in NYC asks them to find out what has happened to Vera Bodine, who has gone missing. She has an eidetic memory, and was a valued secretary to an exclusive law firm, and its not clear whether foul play is involved. The investigation is slowed by Vera's jam-packed apartment, a nauseous smell of lavender, and her reclusive nature, making neighbors less helpful than normal. Lillian and Will follow a number of disparate leads: a murder, a pawned bracelet, and an FBI investigation into Nazis during WWII, where Vera assisted the FBI. Lillian has a distraction of her own as her nemesis, billionaire Jessup Quincannon, is threatening to reveal damaging secrets from Lillian's past. Very good series, in my opinion: looking forward to Book #5.
]]> <![CDATA[Unnatural Death (Kay Scarpetta, #27)]]> 125415575 Ěý
The victims have been mauled beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling including a larger-than-life footprint. Ěý
Ěý
After the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why.]]> 432 Patricia Cornwell Skip 3 thriller 3.70 2023 Unnatural Death (Kay Scarpetta, #27)
author: Patricia Cornwell
name: Skip
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/09
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: thriller
review:
Forensic specialist and medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is called to the wilderness to examine the remains of two people wanted by law enforcement as part of a right-wing terrorist group. There is some speculation that they were mauled by a Sasquatch beast. As we get into the details and investigation, another monster (long thought to be dead) emerges. Lots of politics and international intrigue in this 27th book in this series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Whitewashed Tombs (Emma Djan Investigation #4)]]> 201632481 Vicious hate crimes are rocking the LGBTQ+ community in Accra, and prejudice and politics threaten to stymie PI Emma Djan’s efforts to find the killer.

Author Kwei Quartey tackles a timely and deeply personal issue as a very-real anti-gay bill threatens to tear Ghana apart if ratified by the president.

Marcelo Tetteh, a twenty-seven-year-old LGBTQ activist, is butchered to death one night after being lured on Grindr to a deserted building site. With high instances of homophobia in Ghana, Marcelo’s wealthy father doesn’t trust the Ghana Police Service to find the killer, so he goes to the Sowah Private Investigators Agency for help, partly because he still feels guilty for disowning his son when he came out.

Emma is assigned the case, but quickly learns of a complication that prevents her from teaming up as usual with Jojo, her trusted colleague. Emma is the only one at work who knows Jojo is gay, and now he reveals something else: for some time, Jojo was dating Marcelo, the victim.

Working with Manu, whom she’s never gotten along with at work, Emma goes undercover in several organizations including International Congress of Families, a powerful organization seeking to criminalize homosexuality in African countries. As Emma infiltrates the ICF, she uncovers a web of deceit and hypocrisy and discovers that the mastermind behind the murders is someone much closer than she ever imagined. Emma must race against time to unmask the killer, protect the vulnerable LGBTQ community, and bring justice to the victims, all while navigating the dangerous waters of politics, power, and personal secrets.]]> 336 Kwei Quartey 1641295880 Skip 4 thriller, series-in-progress 3.85 The Whitewashed Tombs (Emma Djan Investigation #4)
author: Kwei Quartey
name: Skip
average rating: 3.85
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/16
date added: 2024/09/16
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
A chilling story about homophobia/hatred in Ghana. An LGBTQ activist is butchered with machetes. His wealthy father knows the Ghanaian police will not work the case so he hires the Sowah Private Investigators Agency to solve the crime. Emma Djan is assigned the case, but cannot work with her usual partner (Jojo) because he knew the victim. When another man is hacked up, Emma goes undercover at the International Congress of Families, a powerful Christian organization seeking to criminalize homosexuality in African countries. ICF align itself with sympathetic religious, political, and criminal groups to push forward a bill, targeting any and all opponents. Emma befriends several of the opponents only to see them become prey, until she is able to solve the mystery and bring the guilty parties to justice.
]]> ReykjavĂ­k: A Crime Story 65214641
What happened to Lára?

Iceland, 1956. Fourteen-year-old Lára decides to spend the summer working for a couple on the small island of Videy, just off the coast of ReykjavĂ­k. In early August, the girl disappears without a trace. Time passes, and the mystery becomes Icelandâ€s most infamous unsolved case. What happened to the young girl? Is she still alive? Did she leave the island, or did something happen to her there?

Thirty years later, as the city of Reykjavík celebrates its 200th anniversary, journalist Valur Robertsson begins his own investigation into Lára's case. But as he draws closer to discovering the secret, and with the eyes of Reykjavík upon him, it soon becomes clear that Lára's disappearance is a mystery that someone will stop at nothing to keep unsolved . . .]]> 355 Ragnar Jónasson 1250907349 Skip 3 3.64 2022 Reykjavík: A Crime Story
author: Ragnar JĂłnasson
name: Skip
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/18
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves: foreign-translated, thriller, goodreads-netgalley-giveaway, e-books
review:
Not as good as Jonasson's other novels. A 15-year old girl goes missing from her summer employment on an remote island near Reykjavik in 1956. The young investigating officer is not allowed to properly investigate because the family who employed her are politically connected. investigate this case (due to her employers� status and friends in high places). He is haunted by his inability to solve the crime. Some 30 years later, a young reporter decides to write a series of articles about the girl, and manages to solve the mystery with his persistence. It's the the old adage: shine a light down a dark hole and watch the rats scatter.
]]> <![CDATA[Thieves' Gambit (Thieves' Gambit, #1)]]> 112974911 The Inheritance Games meets Ocean's Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world's best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother's life.

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother's life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves' Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn't exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world--a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Ross tries her best to stick to the family creed: trust no one whose last name isn't Quest. But with the stakes this high, Ross will have to decide who to con and who to trust before time runs out. After all, only one of them can win.]]> 384 Kayvion Lewis 0593625366 Skip 2 3.86 2023 Thieves' Gambit (Thieves' Gambit, #1)
author: Kayvion Lewis
name: Skip
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/01/22
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: thriller, goodreads-netgalley-giveaway
review:
Ross Quest is a thief because this is the family business, and her mom has trained her. Nonetheless, Ross wants out, and is planning a score of her own so she can disappear. Then, the world shift tectonically as her mother is kidnapped for a billion dollar ransom. Her only chance of a prize this big is the world-famous Thieves� Gambit, a competition pitting the world's best thieves against each other. Ross learns fast that there are other talented thieves, and the competition is forcing teamwork in direct contravention of the family code: trust no one who is not a Quest. I was not impressed by either the competition nor the characters.
]]> Where They Last Saw Her 195888449
All they heard was her scream.

Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to people who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she hasn’t ever stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring.

Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don’t know what it means to quit; she has her loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children who challenge her to be better every day. So when she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something—and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.

As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts herself, her family, and everything she’s built on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being invisible.]]> 336 Marcie R. Rendon 0593496523 Skip 4 thriller 3.83 2024 Where They Last Saw Her
author: Marcie R. Rendon
name: Skip
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/13
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves: thriller
review:
Similar to Rendon's Cash Blackbear character, Quill is an indigenous woman who is strong and brave, and wholly dedicated to protecting women on the reservation. Out for a run, she hears a blood-curdling scream, but is only able to find a lone earring. When the local cops make no progress, Quill and her two best friends contact the jewelry maker, and find the name of the missing woman. As she continues her quest to find the missing woman, other women are attacked, with blame placed on local oil pipeline workers, who are a rough sort and looking for "fun" at others' expense. Putting herself at risk, without regard to her loving husband (Crow) and two children, there is great tension at home, especially when Quill withholds details from him. Meanwhile, Quill becomes somewhat of a crusader among the local people, especially when a bad apple or two turn up close to home.
]]> <![CDATA[Broadcast Blues (Clare Carlson #6)]]> 178810986
New York City has no shortage of crime, making for a busy schedule for TV newswoman Clare Carlson. But not all crimes are created equal, and when an explosive planted in a car detonates and kills a woman, Clare knows it’ll be a huge story for her.

But it’s not only about the story—Clare also wants justice for the victim, Wendy Kyle. Wendy had sparked controversy as an NYPD officer, ultimately getting kicked off the force after making sexual harassment allegations and getting into a physical altercation with her boss. Then, she started a private investigations business, catering to women who suspected their husbands of cheating. Undoubtedly, Wendy had angered many people with her work, so the list of her suspected murderers is seemingly endless.

Despite the daunting investigation, Clare dives in headfirst. As she digs deeper, she attracts the attention of many rich and powerful people who will stop at nothing to keep her from breaking the truth about the death of Wendy Kyle—and exposing their personal secrets that Wendy took to her grave.

Perfect for fans of Sue Grafton and J. D. Robb

While all of the novels in the Clare Carlson Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence

Yesterday’s News
Below the Fold
The Last Scoop
Beyond the Headlines
It’s News to Me
Broadcast Blues]]> 320 R.G. Belsky 1608095312 Skip 3 series-in-progress, thriller 3.94 2024 Broadcast Blues (Clare Carlson #6)
author: R.G. Belsky
name: Skip
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/25
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: series-in-progress, thriller
review:
The sixth book in the Clare Carlson series. A private investigator, Wendy Kyle, is murdered. Wendy became a P.I. after her career in the NYPD ended prematurely, following her allegations of sexual harassment were brushed aside and she punched her boss. She became a capable P.I., with a business that catered to women who suspected their husbands of cheating. This sort of work created numerous suspects, who were angered by her work and the consequences on marriages. Clare is continuing to balance her roles as a producer of television news and a reporter, struggling under new management. Her investigation is not appreciated by many of the suspects, once again making Clare's work dangerous, but interesting.
]]> Small Town Sins 61796658 EDGAR AWARD FINALIST

Ken Jaworowski’s Small Town Sins is a gripping Rust Belt thriller that captures the characters of a down-and-out Pennsylvania town, revealing their troubled pasts and the crimes that could cost them their lives.

In Locksburg, Pennsylvania, a former coal and steel town whose best days seem long past, five thousand residents have toughed it out, and have reasons for both worry and hope as this neglected place teeters between decay and renewal. For some of them, their biggest troubles have just arrived.

After years of just scraping by, three restless souls have their lives upended: Nathan, a volunteer fireman who uncovers a secret stash of money in a burning building and takes it; Callie, a nurse whose tender patient may not have long to live, despite the girl’s fundamentalist parents� ardent beliefs; and Andy, a recovering heroin addict who undertakes a nightmare mission to hunt down and stop a serial predator.

Before long, Nathan’s stolen riches threaten to destroy everyone around him as he tries to cover his haphazard trail of lies. Callie risks her career to grant her young patient a final, and likely illegal, wish. And Andy’s hunger for vigilante justice becomes a fierce obsession that may end in violence.

As their stories barrel toward unexpected ends, Nathan, Callie, and Andy struggle to endure—or escape. They each face their pasts and gamble on their futures, and confront the underside of their rough Rust Belt town. Riveting, evocative, and unforgettable, Small Town Sins is a debut novel that marks the arrival of a major new talent.]]> 272 Ken Jaworowski 1250881676 Skip 3 thriller 3.84 2023 Small Town Sins
author: Ken Jaworowski
name: Skip
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/25
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: thriller
review:
Nathan, a volunteer fireman, finds a life-changing amount of cash in a burning building. He wants to leave the small town, but his wife won't go. Callie is a hard-working nurse, taking care of a terminally ill cancer patient, who has a final wish that nobody will grant. Finally, Andy is a recovering drug addict, who has lost his wife and daughter, and he is on the verge of a relapse. Of course, the owners of the money care nothing for these small-town dramas, and care only about recovering their money. Some very bad decisions are made by all.
]]> <![CDATA[A Death in Jerusalem (Adam Lapid Mysteries #7)]]> 59553500
Israel, 1952 � Private detective Adam Lapid tries to do the right thing. He may end up in prison because of it.

To stay free, Adam must work for a man he hates. The case is unusual. The identity of the killer is known, but the motive is a mystery.

As Adam scours the historical streets of West Jerusalem in search of the truth, he uncovers a connection between his case and a recent unsolved murder. He also meets an enigmatic woman with plenty of secrets and is hunted by a ruthless cop who blames Adam for a crime he didn’t commit.

In a case full of action and twists, Adam must use all his skills to solve the mystery. And if he doesn’t watch his back, he may end up paying the ultimate price in his quest for justice...]]> 430 Jonathan Dunsky 965779532X Skip 4 thriller, historical-fiction 4.57 2022 A Death in Jerusalem (Adam Lapid Mysteries #7)
author: Jonathan Dunsky
name: Skip
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/27
date added: 2024/09/12
shelves: thriller, historical-fiction
review:
Another excellent book in the Adam Lapid series. Israel's political leaders are debating a vote to end its boycott of Germany and initiate negotiations to accept reparations from Germany for the Jews killed during the Holocaust and the property stolen by the Nazis from the Jews. Adam Lapid goes to a protest, where violence ensues. He tries to help a badly injured policeman, but instead is arrested on suspicion of causing the injuries. Adam is bailed out of jail by a journalist with an offer to assist a wealthy industrialist investigate the suicide of his 23-year old daughter. While Adam dislikes the client, he is happy to be away from the arresting officer, who is hell bent to render justice. As he investigates, Adam learns that the father and daughter have long been estranged, but his moral compass convinces him to solve the mystery of her death no matter the costs.
]]> Hero 179846483
Unable to stand the embarrassment of his lackeys having been defeated by a lone woman, Mr. Conger puts in a call to the one man who can make his problems disappear. Known for his swiftness and subtlety, Leo Sealy will kill anyone for a price. All he needs is a name and a face, any starting point to pick up his victim’s trail. Luckily for him, the local news is as eager as he is for any information about the heroic bodyguard―and quick to broadcast their findings, regardless of what it might mean for her safety. But Sealy isn’t prepared for just how quick and resourceful Justine can be. So begins a cat and mouse game between two people who know more about how to take down one’s enemies than anyone else in the business.

Justine finds herself up against both a hardened killer and the fickle media landscape that can turn on her just as quickly as it celebrated her in this high-stakes thriller from the author of The Old Man .]]> 274 Thomas Perry 1613164777 Skip 3 thriller 3.74 2024 Hero
author: Thomas Perry
name: Skip
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/31
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves: thriller
review:
Justine Poole is a private security agent for an LA-based firm, Spengler-Nash. Spengler assigns her to protect an elderly couple, and foils a robbery with five armed robbers, killing two and pinning down the other three until the police arrive. The mastermind behind the robbery is furious, and hires a paid killer to end her life. A game of cat and mouse ensues. Not as good as his other novels, in my opinion.
]]> Lost in Time 60534118
Save the future.

One morning, Dr. Sam Anderson wakes up to find that the woman he loves has been murdered.

For Sam, the horror is only beginning. He and his daughter are accused of the crime. The evidence is ironclad. They will be convicted. And so, to ensure his daughter goes free, Sam does what he must: he confesses. But in the future, murderers aren't sent to prison. Thanks to a machine Sam helped invent, the world's worst criminals are now sent to the past � approximately 200 million years into the past, to the dawn of the time of the dinosaurs � where they must live out their lives alone, in exile from the human race. Sam accepts his fate. But his daughter doesn't. Adeline Anderson has already lost her mother to a deadly, unfair disease. She can't bear to lose her father as well. So she sets out on a quest to prove him innocent. And to get him back. People around her insist that both are impossible tasks. But Adeline doesn't give up. She only works harder. She soon learns that impossible tasks are her specialty. And that she is made of tougher stuff than she ever imagined. As she peels back the layers of the mystery that tore her father from this world, Adeline finds more questions than answers. Everyone around her is hiding a secret. But which ones are connected to the murder that exiled her father?]]> 464 A.G. Riddle 1804541761 Skip 3 thriller, science-fiction 3.86 2022 Lost in Time
author: A.G. Riddle
name: Skip
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/04
date added: 2024/09/08
shelves: thriller, science-fiction
review:
Sam Anderson is a scientist, a key member of a team who invented the Absolom time machine. Absolom was a research project to move objects into other locations using quantum entanglement, but the team discovered they could also displace objects in time. Governments decided this would be a deterrent for the worst criminals, as they were banished back to prehistoric times to survive among dinosaurs and other predators. When the team is starts work Absolom 2, there is discord, especially from Nora Thomas. When she is murdered, suspicion falls on Sam, who was her lover and the last to see her alive, but the murder weapon has Adeline’s fingerprints. Sam confesses to save Adeline, and he is sent to the Triassic era via Absolom, where he fights for his life. Adeline meanwhile is determined to find who actually killed Nora, and to rescue Sam, using all the resources she can muster.
]]> Next of Kin 59787336 On an ordinary working day...

Leila Syed receives a call that cleaves her life in two. Her brother-in-law’s voice is filled with panic. His son’s nursery has called to ask where little Max is.

Your worst nightmare...

Leila was supposed to drop Max off that morning. But she forgot.

Racing to the carpark, she grasps the horror of what she has done.

Is about to come true...

What follows is an explosive, high-profile trial that will tear the family apart. But as the case progresses it becomes clear there’s more to this incident than meets the eye.

A gripping, brave and tense courtroom drama, Next of Kin will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final, heart-stopping page.]]> 384 Kia Abdullah 0008538328 Skip 4 thriller 4.18 2021 Next of Kin
author: Kia Abdullah
name: Skip
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/06
date added: 2024/09/08
shelves: thriller
review:
Another excellent legal thriller by Kia Abdullah. Leila Syed is a partner in a architectural firm and happily married to Will. Leila and Will help her younger sister, Yasmin, whenever possible. Yasmin is married to Andrew, and they have a toddler named Max. Andrew asks Leila to take Max to day care, which is a minor inconvenience, but Leila is distracted by a work emergency requiring her to detour to the office. Max had been forgotten in Leila's car on the hottest day of the year, and does not survive. Leila is subsequently charged with negligent manslaughter, leading to an intense trial and the slow reveal of deep and dark family secrets.
]]> Arkangel (Sigma Force, #18) 199635066
The execution of a Vatican archivist within the shadow of the Kremlin exposes a conspiracy going back three centuries—to the bloody era of the Russian Tsars. Before his murder, he manages to dispatch a coded message, a warning of a terrifying threat, one tied to a secret buried within the Golden Library of Tsars, a vast and treasured archive that had vanished into history.

As combative forces race for the truth behind this death and alarming discovery, Sigma Force is summoned to aid in the search—not only for this missing trove of ancient books, but to follow a trail far into the Arctic, to search for the truth about a lost continent and a revelation that could ignite a global war. But Sigma Force has its own difficulties at home after an explosive attack on the National Mall—one aimed at the heart of their covert agency—has left them vulnerable and exposed.

The growing conflict—both on Russian soil and deep in the Arctic—will reignite a centuries-old war between the newly resurgent Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, while sabers rattle across the nations of the Arctic Circle, threatening to turn those icy seas into a fiery conflagration.

Facing enemies on all sides, it will be up to Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force to unravel a mystery going back millennia—and uncover the truth about a lost civilization and an arcane treasure that could save the planet…or destroy it.ĚýĚý]]> 499 James Rollins 0062893165 Skip 3 thriller, series-in-progress 4.07 2024 Arkangel (Sigma Force, #18)
author: James Rollins
name: Skip
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/04
date added: 2024/09/06
shelves: thriller, series-in-progress
review:
Great to see Tucker and his canine partner Kane reunited with Sigma Force, supplemented by another Belgian Malois named Marco. They are following a shady operative when he attempts to kidnap a Russian botanist, Ella Stutt. Meanwhile, the Russians have killed two researchers, seeking to find the Golden Library of the Tsars, supposedly hidden by Ivan the Terrible, to locate the fabled city of Hyperborea in the Arctic. Evil forces at the Vatican are secretly conspiring with the Russian military, drawing in Sigma Force to stop them from recovering a powerful weapon. Of course, the assassin Valya is also helping the Russians, forcing the inevitable battle-to-the death showdown with Seichan. Sigma Force calls in some favors, including a nuclear-powered icebreaker to get them into the East Siberian Sea, where they find danger in many forms. As always, lots of killing and mayhem to hide the nefarious attempt to gain military supremacy with the weapon hidden in the city for centuries.
]]> <![CDATA[The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (Pendergast #21)]]> 60677335
Meanwhile, in present-day New York, Agent Pendergast is desperate to find a way to reunite with Constance � but will he find a way before it's too late?]]> 455 Douglas Preston 1538736802 Skip 4 thriller, e-books
A dead museum curator is found in a freezer storage room in the American Museum of Natural History, the site for the first two novels in this series. Pendergast's old police pal Vincent D'Agosta is in charge of that investigation, and is baffled. Meanwhile, Pendergast's most recent FBI partner, Armstrong Coldmoon is sent to investigate the a death of a man who creates Native American artifact replicas on the Lakota Reservation. He eventually ties this death back to the man who died in the freezer.

Pendergast convinces D'Agosta to accompany him back in time to help save Constance from herself and Dr. Leng. Great to see these two united again, and more amazing yet, was unexpected assistance from a third party. The story continues...]]> 4.46 2023 The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (Pendergast #21)
author: Douglas Preston
name: Skip
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2024/09/05
shelves: thriller, e-books
review:
At the end of the last book, a mysterious device has sent Pendergast's ward, Constance Greene back to the 1880s where she hopes to save her sister and brother from the evil clutches of Dr. Enoch Leng, whose human experiments were focused on extending his life (and ultimately hers.) She left the machine wrecked. Constance is masquerading as a wealthy Aunt of her own street urchin self and her siblings, trying to lure Dr. Leng into a deadly trap. Aloysius Pendergast knows that Constance cannot defeat the genius Leng on her own so he sends his most trusted servant to recruit a wallowing, but brilliant engineer to rebuild the broken machine, which he moves into the basement of his mansion.

A dead museum curator is found in a freezer storage room in the American Museum of Natural History, the site for the first two novels in this series. Pendergast's old police pal Vincent D'Agosta is in charge of that investigation, and is baffled. Meanwhile, Pendergast's most recent FBI partner, Armstrong Coldmoon is sent to investigate the a death of a man who creates Native American artifact replicas on the Lakota Reservation. He eventually ties this death back to the man who died in the freezer.

Pendergast convinces D'Agosta to accompany him back in time to help save Constance from herself and Dr. Leng. Great to see these two united again, and more amazing yet, was unexpected assistance from a third party. The story continues...
]]> <![CDATA[Fox Creek (Cork O’Connor, #19)]]> 59366108 Cork races against time to save his wife, a mysterious stranger, and an Ojibwe healer from bloodthirsty mercenaries.

The ancient Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux has had a vision of his death. As he walks the Northwoods in solitude, he tries to prepare himself peacefully for the end of his long life. But peace is destined to elude him as hunters fill the woods seeking a woman named Dolores Morriseau, a stranger who had come to the healer for shelter and the gift of his wisdom.

Meloux guides this stranger and his great niece, Cork O’Connor’s wife, to safety deep into the Boundary Waters, his home for more than a century. On the last journey he may ever take into this beloved land, Meloux must do his best to outwit the deadly mercenaries who follow.

Meanwhile, in Aurora, Cork works feverishly to identify the hunters and the reason for their relentless pursuit, but he has little to go on. Desperate, Cork begins tracking the killers but his own skills as a hunter are severely tested by nightfall and a late season snowstorm. He knows only too well that with each passing hour time is running out. But his fiercest enemy in this deadly game of cat and mouse may well be his own deep self-doubt about his ability to save those he loves.]]> 388 William Kent Krueger 1982128712 Skip 5 thriller 4.05 2022 Fox Creek (Cork O’Connor, #19)
author: William Kent Krueger
name: Skip
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/08/28
date added: 2024/09/05
shelves: thriller
review:
Dolores Morriseau asks Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux and his niece, Rainy, to help her understand the problems she is having with her husband, Lou, a successful real estate lawyer who is hiding his native roots. He has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. A person pretending to be Lou shows up and asks for Cork O'Connor's help to find her, which he does, only to learn of the fake. Henry senses something is wrong and heads north into the Minnesota Boundary Waters as a group wants Dolores at any cost. The group has an experienced tracker (LaLoup or the Wolf), who quickly learns that 100+ year old Henry is a formidable and cunning foe. Cork and Lou's cousin Anton go after the hunters, while Stephen O'Connor joins Lou's sister to try to find Lou and why these men as so intent on finding him. Stephen is haunted by a vision of Henry's death, and there is an excellent showdown between LaLoup, Henry and Rainy, with an unexpected outcome. Another excellent mystery adventure by Krueger integrating important real world issues.
]]> <![CDATA[The Devil's Hand (Terminal List, #4)]]> 54265145
A new president offers hope to a country weary of conflict. He’s a young, popular, self-made visionary…but he’s also a man with a secret.

Halfway across the globe a regional superpower struggles with sanctions imposed by the Great Satan and her European allies, a country whose ancient religion spawned a group of ruthless assassins. Faced with internal dissent and extrajudicial targeted killings by the United States and Israel, the Supreme Leader puts a plan in motion to defeat the most powerful nation on earth.

Meanwhile, in a classified facility five stories underground, a young PhD student has gained access to a level of bioweapons known only to a select number of officials. A second-generation agent, he has been assigned a mission that will bring his adopted homeland to its knees.]]> 524 Jack Carr 1982123745 Skip 4 thriller 4.40 2021 The Devil's Hand (Terminal List, #4)
author: Jack Carr
name: Skip
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/30
date added: 2024/09/05
shelves: thriller
review:
President Christenson asks for a private meeting with Commander James Reece at Camp David to discuss finding and executing the planners of the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack that killed his future wife. During his assignment, Reece uncovers an Iranian plot to weaponize a deadly African virus, with a 90% mortality rate, and release the contagion in three cities, hoping that the President will wipe out cities with old ordnance and laws to save the country. Reece and a courageous virus doctor are tasked with finding conclusive proof that the deadly virus cannot be transmitted in the air (like COVID), and then to punish those involved. A major private military contractor and power-hungry Senator, with ambitions to succeed Christenson, are working against Reece and his team.
]]> <![CDATA[Harm’s Way (Jonathan Grave #15)]]> 63853158
Twelve missionaries have been snatched in a remote area of Venezuela and are being held for ransom. The high-priority rescue mission comes as a personal plea from FBI director Irene Rivers. It also carries a Presidential demand: no international incident. Just get in and get out—with hostages who are far from cooperative, but nonetheless precious cargo.
America’s enemies hope to leverage the kidnapping into a major crisis. Fighting his way to the hostages is Jonathan’s first battle. The second is to deliver them, alive and well, to the extraction site � and let no one stand in his way.]]> 320 John Gilstrap 0786050098 Skip 4 thriller 4.37 2023 Harm’s Way (Jonathan Grave #15)
author: John Gilstrap
name: Skip
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/26
date added: 2024/09/05
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tides of Fire (Sigma Force #17)]]> 62713215 Erbeben, Vulkanausbrüche, Tsunamis � und das ist nur der Anfang im 17. Abenteuer der Sigma Force!
Das Verschwinden eines Militär-U-Boots vor der Küste Australiens setzt eine Katastrophe in Gang, welche die ganze Region destabilisiert. Chinesische und US-Streitkräfte treffen aufeinander, und die Agenten des wissenschaftlichen Geheimdienstes Sigma Force sind mittendrin. Verzweifelt versuchen sie, die Lage zu beruhigen. Doch Erdbeben, Vulkanausbrüche und tödliche Tsunamis kündigen eine noch größere Katastrophe an: Kilometerweit unter dem Meer rührt sich eine seit Jahrtausenden verborgene Gefahr � und das verschwundene U-Boot könnte der Auslöser sein …]]> 448 James Rollins 0062893076 Skip 4 thriller 4.02 2023 Tides of Fire (Sigma Force #17)
author: James Rollins
name: Skip
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/09/07
date added: 2024/09/05
shelves: thriller
review:

]]> The Year of the Locust 23492806
But some places don't play by the rules. Some places are too dangerous, even for a man of Kane's experience. The badlands where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet are such a place - a place where violence is the only way to survive.

Kane travels there to exfiltrate a man with vital information for the safety of the West - but instead he meets an adversary who will take the world to the brink of extinction. A frightening, clever, vicious man with blood on his hands and vengeance in his heart...

'Worth the wait... an often captivating, mass-market adventure story' The Times
'Compelling, nerve-jangling and breathlessly exciting... Totally immersive' Irish Independent
'As good, if not better, than Hayes' debut. Don't make any plans for the week after you start reading' Daily Mirror
'Compare this with the thrillers written by Mr or Mrs Clinton, and you come away feeling that Hayes is the one who has more inside knowledge' Telegraph
'Move over Jason Bourne. CIA operative Kane redefines the smart but vulnerable bad ass super spy in this dazzling cat-and-mouse thriller where the entire globe is a chessboard, and everyone’s playing for keeps' Lisa Gardner]]> 787 Terry Hayes 1439177759 Skip 2 thriller I am Pilgrim was excellent, but making fans wait ten years for a crappy sequel that was hundreds of pages too long was terribly disappointing, especially so in the context of multiple release dates publicized. (Of course, Scott Lynch's The Thorn of Emberlain and Patrick Rothfuss's The Doors of Stone are quickly becoming rivals in the making readers wait category.) The book started out reasonably well, but got further and further off track as it dragged on into the realm of unbelievable. Skip this one.]]> 3.26 2023 The Year of the Locust
author: Terry Hayes
name: Skip
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/02/19
date added: 2024/09/02
shelves: thriller
review:
Terry Hayes' first book I am Pilgrim was excellent, but making fans wait ten years for a crappy sequel that was hundreds of pages too long was terribly disappointing, especially so in the context of multiple release dates publicized. (Of course, Scott Lynch's The Thorn of Emberlain and Patrick Rothfuss's The Doors of Stone are quickly becoming rivals in the making readers wait category.) The book started out reasonably well, but got further and further off track as it dragged on into the realm of unbelievable. Skip this one.
]]> Smoke Kings 150065107 Get Out and Razorblade Tears, a feast of noir fiction and probing social commentary that asks us to consider what would happen if reparations were finally charged and exacted.

Nate Evers, a young black political activist, struggles with rage as his people are still being killed in the streets 62 years after Emmett Till. When his little cousin is murdered, Nate shuns the graffiti murals, candlelight vigils, and Twitter hashtags that are commonplace after these senseless deaths. Instead, he leads three grief-stricken friends on a mission of retribution, kidnapping the descendants of long-ago perpetrators of hate crimes, confronting the targets with their racist lineages, and forcing them to pay reparations to a community fund. For three of the group members, the results mean justice; for Nate—pure revenge.

Not all targets go quietly into the night, though, and Nate and his friends' world spirals out of control when they confront the wrong man. Now the leader of a white supremacist group is hot on their tail as is a jaded lawman with some disturbingly racist views of his own.

As the four vigilantes fight to thwart their ruthless pursuers, they’re forced to accept an age-old truth: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Smoke Kings is a powerful and propulsive novel with a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters. Like Steph Cha’s Your House Will Pay, it explores decades of racial tensions through a fictional landscape where the line between justice and revenge is blurred.]]> 400 Jahmal Mayfield 168589111X Skip 3 thriller 3.78 2024 Smoke Kings
author: Jahmal Mayfield
name: Skip
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/23
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: thriller
review:
A race-based novel compared to S.A. Cosby, but nowhere near as good. The basic premise that the a black kid is beaten to death by a group of white kids, and four of the victim's brothers and friends come together to avenge his murder in a unique manner: kidnapping the descendants of long-ago perpetrators of hate crimes against blacks, confronting the targets with their racist lineages, and forcing them to pay reparations to a community fund for their release. Of course, in their escalating war, they come up against someone whose brother heads a racist biker gang, and things get very ugly. It was OK.
]]> <![CDATA[The Atlas Maneuver (Cotton Malone, #18)]]> 173403990 401 Steve Berry 1538721031 Skip 4 thriller 4.00 2024 The Atlas Maneuver (Cotton Malone, #18)
author: Steve Berry
name: Skip
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/27
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves: thriller
review:
The story begins at the end of WWII with the burial of stolen gold by the Japanese (General Yamashita's Gold) in the Philippines. The U.S. finds a cache, and secretly moves it to a private bank in Switzerland (Black Eagle Trust) and uses the illicit funds to wage war on communism in the intervening years. We then shift to modern day, where Cotton and Cassiopeia Vitt are in Switzerland for different reason, with Cotton helping an old friend on banking and Bitcoin issues. There is also a thread with a Russian assassin killing off a senior bank official at the private Bank of St. George. be prepared for an education on Bitcoin, blockchain, currency, and economics. !
]]> <![CDATA[Mission Manhattan (City Spies #5)]]> 176443512 420 James Ponti 1665932473 Skip 4 thriller 4.45 2024 Mission Manhattan (City Spies #5)
author: James Ponti
name: Skip
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves: thriller
review:
The City Spies are back, dispatched to Venice to protect a young female environmental activist (Beatriz) from harm. After thwarting a possible attack at a protest in St. Mark's Square, Rio discovers a bomb on her water taxi to speak to adults, thus establishing his bona fides. The team then comes to the U.S.: both Washington D.C. and New York City. In D.C., the kids' handler Mother falls into the wrong hands, forcing the team to split up as Beatriz has a major speech to deliver to the U.N. General Assembly. The dynamic among the team and the continued slow reveal of family secrets keep this series exciting and fresh. (Looking forward to the next story in London.)
]]>